


The Way Things Are

by ShadowAssassin15



Category: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-09
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-01-31 04:57:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 54,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12674883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowAssassin15/pseuds/ShadowAssassin15
Summary: In the Shadowhunter world, everyone has a soulmate. They are born with the person's initials on their arm and the letters become readable around the time they are eleven. When they meet, the letters turn gold and get more elaborate. Malec and Clace and many OCs.





	1. Chapter 1

“Happy birthday, sis.” Jess smiles at Clary as she walks into the kitchen for breakfast. “Ready to have fun tonight?”  

  
“I am, I just hope everything goes well at the college,” Clary says, sitting next to her sister.

  
“Your art is amazing. They’ll practically beg you to go to their school,” Jess says, drinking her cocoa.

  
“I hope you’re right,” Clary smiles, taking toast from Luke.

 

  
“Morning Dad,” Jess says, looking over at Luke. “Big case? You didn’t get home until really late last night.”

  
“It’s a huge case and the station is on high alert,” Luke sighs. “Happy birthday Clary.”

  
“Thanks, Luke,” Clary says.

  
“To think you’re 18 now, it feels like it was yesterday when you turned three.”

  
“Seems like yesterday she was born,” Jocelyn says, walking into the kitchen. “But you weren’t there for that. Now, that was an adventure.” She pours herself a cup of coffee and puts a bagel into the toaster.

  
“Mom,” Clary sighs with a smile.

  
“You were an adorable baby.” Jocelyn smiles at her daughter. “Look at you now. Turning 18 and applying to college. I feel old.”

  
“Speaking of college, I better go or I’ll be late,” Clary says, finishing her juice. “I’ll see you at the cafe right, Jess?”

  
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Jess says and smirks, but she’s facing away from Clary, so her sister can’t see.

  
“Bye,” Clary says, leaving the apartment.

  
“Why are you smirking?” Luke asks his daughter.

  
“Simon’s got a plan,” Jess says. “Should be fun to watch. Although, you know Clary’s actual soulmate is out there somewhere. When are you going to tell her the truth?”

  
“I plan on telling her tonight,” Jocelyn says.

  
“Well, I better get to work,” Luke says, filling his travel mug with coffee. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

  
“Have a good day,” Jocelyn says.

  
“I’ll try,” Luke says, leaving the apartment and heading down to the police station.

  
“Well, I gotta go meet up with Simon,” Jess says, finishing her breakfast. “I told him I’d help him come up with a new name for his band.”

  
“Have a good day, keep an eye on the two of them,” Jocelyn says. “And isn’t Simon looking for a female singer?”

  
“Yeah, why?” Jess asks. “I can’t exactly sing.”

  
“Maybe you can help him find a singer as well, I’m sure he will be happy with the help.”

  
“Nothing like listening to a bunch of Mundane girls sing and hit on Simon, who is completely oblivious to it all,” Jess says. “See you later, Mom.”

Clary smiles as she heads to the art school she applied to, today is very important, she’s been looking at this school for a long time. As she walks towards the door, she accidentally runs into someone both dropping their things.

  
“I am so sorry!” The other girl says, picking up Clary’s work.

  
“It’s alright, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going,” Clary says, handing the other girl’s things back to her. “I’m Clary.”

  
“Gabrielle,” the girl smiles, handing Clary her things. “You’re here for art?”

  
“Yeah. If they like what I show them, I get in. It’s been my dream for years to go to art school. And this one is close to my house, so I can still help my mom with the store.”

  
“I’m sure you will get in, I’m here for dance. I have always been a dancer, mom said I was dancing before I could walk. This is my best bet since it’s close to where I live and I can work at my mother’s shop.”

  
“Your mother has a shop too? That’s so weird,” Clary says. “Mine sells antiques and stuff like that.”

  
“My mother owns a flower shop.” Gabrielle smiles.

 

Clary notices the other girl’s wrist and the two letters on it “Who’s JM?”

  
“Oh, I am not sure. I’ve asked my mother why I have it but she won’t tell me,” Gabrielle notices Clary’s wrist too. “Who’s JH?”

  
“What?” Clary asks.

  
“On your wrist.”

  
“Where?” Clary asks, looking at her arm. “I don’t see anything.”

  
“Really? It’s right here.” Gabrielle points at her left wrist where she sees the initials.

  
“I better go in before I’m late,” Clary says, walking into the school and up to the three people sitting at a table.

  
After an hour, Clary leaves the school with great news. Once again, she bumps into someone, Gabrielle. The two talk about the school since they both got great news.

  
“Well, I guess I’ll see you around,” Clary says. “I have to go meet up with my sister and my best friend.”

  
“Yea, have fun with your sister and friend. Stop by the flower shop if you want, my mom would love to meet a fellow shop owner,” Gabrielle says.

  
“It was nice to meet you,” Clary says, heading over to Java Jones to join Simon and Jess.

  
“After six auditions, not one is what we are looking for.” Simon sighs.

  
“You just have to keep looking,” Jess tells him. “There’s lots of girls in New York City.”

 

“I know, but it feels as if she’s around here somewhere. We need the singer for our next gig.”

  
“Why can’t you just do the singing, Simon?” Clary asks. “You’re really good at it.”

  
“If I could hit the high notes, I would, but I can’t go that high without ruining my voice,” Simon says.

  
“Then just keep looking,” Jess says as the waitress comes over.

  
“Ready to order?” she asks.

  
“Yeah. Can I get a large hot chocolate?” Jess asks her.

  
“Of course, and you?” She turns to Clary.

  
“Coffee,” Clary says.

  
“I’ll have a coffee too, extra strong,” Simon says.

  
The woman nods and goes to make their order.

  
“So, Clary,” Simon starts. “I uh…”

  
“Um....excuse me?” a voice asks.

  
The three of them turn to look at the newcomer. She has long chestnut hair and hazel eyes and she’s wearing an AC/DC shirt.

  
“Can we help you?” Jess asks her.

  
“I saw this, and I was hoping to audition.” She holds up the flyer.

  
“Auditions ended ten minutes ago,” Jess tells her.

  
“Oh.”

  
“It’s alright, why don’t you show us what you can do?” Simon asks her. “We didn’t find anyone yet.”

  
She pulls out her guitar and begins to sing.

  
“Wow,” Simon says after she finishes.

  
“Was that good?”

  
“That was amazing,” Simon says. “What’s your name?”

  
“Marinette.”

  
“Well, Marinette, welcome to the band. I’ll let you know the name of the band once I decide what to rename it to,” Simon tells her. “I’m Simon.”

  
“Thank you, Simon,” Marinette smiles.

  
“I’ll see you around, then,” Simon says, handing her a piece of paper with his number on it.

  
“See you around, it was nice to meet you.” She waves as she leaves the cafe.

  
“She’s totally into you, Simon,” Clary tells him and gently elbows him.

  
“What?” Simon asks, turning towards Clary.

  
“Are you really that oblivious? You should ask her out,” Clary tells him, finishing her coffee.

  
“Ask her out? Why? She just joined the band.”

  
“So? Get to know her a little better, then ask her out. You guys would be so cute together. You could sing love songs and what not,” Clary says and stands up. “I’ll see you guys tonight at the club.”

  
“Jess? Should I ask....I mean...technically we do have a gig at the club tonight,” Simon says.

  
“Simon, I know you like Clary, but maybe you should move on. This new girl seems really nice.” Jess sips her cocoa.

  
“I really don’t have a chance with Clary, do I?” Simon sighs, sipping his coffee.

  
“You have no idea,” Jess says.

 

 

Later that night, the three friends meet up outside the Pandemonium Club for Simon’s concert.

  
Clary is standing outside waiting when someone runs into her. “Watch where you’re going.”

  
The man looks at her, a bit confused before walking away.

  
“I’m talking to you!” Clary exclaims. “No need to be so rude!”

  
“Is something wrong Clary?” Marinette asks, walking up.

  
“That blonde guy ran into me and didn’t apologize,” Clary says, pointing at him.

  
“What blonde guy?”

 

“The one in the black with all the tattoos,” Clary says. “He’s hard to miss.”

  
“I didn’t see him,” Marinette says.

  
“He just walked inside.” Clary takes off her hoodie. “Come on, let’s go inside. I could use a drink.”

  
“Okay, we should set up anyway,” Marinette agrees. “Also...I don’t think that other girl likes me very much.”

  
“Who, Jess?” Clary asks.

  
“No, the other girl in the band.”

  
“Maureen?” Clary asks. “She has a thing for Simon, but he doesn’t like her back.”

 

“Oh.”

  
“She’ll warm up to you, don’t worry,” Clary says. “Com on, let’s go inside.”

  
They all head inside and Simon and his band get things together on stage to start the music. Jess and Clary are by the bar, unaware that they are being watched by Magnus Bane.

  
“Hey, there’s that blonde guy again.” Clary points at Jace. “The rude one from outside.”

  
“I don’t see anyone,” Jess lies, looking right at Jace, who she know pretty well.

  
“Clary? You’re here too?” Gabrielle asks, walking up with a box full of flowers.

  
“Yeah. My best friend is in the band,” Clary tells her. “Gabrielle, this is my sister, Jess. Jess, this is Gabrielle. I met her outside the school.”

  
“Nice to meet you,” Jess says, looking at her, noticing the initials on wrist. Clary can’t see Jess’s runes, but if this girl can, they may have a problem.

  
“Nice to meet you as well Jess,” Gabrielle smiles. “I like your tattoos, they’re just like my mother’s.”

  
“Tattoos?” Clary asks, confused.

  
“Yea, they’re on her arms. C-can’t you see them?”

  
“Jess doesn’t have any tattoos. Her dad would kill her,” Clary says. “I don’t understand…”

  
“How are we doing, ladies?” Magnus asks, walking up, having overheard the conversation and knowing the situation.

  
“Oh! Mr. Bane, I have your flower orders for you,” Gabrielle says, remembering why she came.

  
“Thank you,” Magnus says. “Why don’t I give you a hand with that?”

  
“Oh, it’s no problem. Where would you like me to place the flowers?”

  
“Here, I’ll show you,” Magnus says and the pair walk off.

  
“Jess?” Clary asks. “Why did she say that you have tattoos?”

  
“I don’t know. You can obviously see that I don’t have any tattoos. That girls is just a little odd,” Jess says, ordering a drink.

  
“I guess so, I saw something on her wrist and she said she doesn’t know where it came from,” Clary says.

  
“What do you mean?” Jess asks her, knowing very well what Clary meant. She had two letter on her wrist as well, but she had yet to find someone with hers.

  
“Two letters, JM I believe it was. I wonder why she has them and doesn’t know herself.”

  
“That’s odd,” Jess says, watching Jace, Alec, and Izzy move through the club.

  
Clary watches them too, she excuses herself and discreetly follows the group.

  
“Clary? What are you doing?” Gabrielle asks her friend.

  
“Following the blonde guy,” Clary tells her, keeping her eyes on Jace.

  
“Wow, is that natural or bleached?” Gabrielle comments, seeing Jace.

  
“That can’t be natural,” Clary says, following Jace and his friends into a private area.

  
“That girl is obviously wearing a wig,” Gabrielle whispers, following Clary.

  
Jace walks up behind a girl in the room and starts talking to her, then pulls out a blade.

  
“Look out!” Clary and Gabrielle yell.

  
The woman backs away from Jace and her friends start to fight with Alec and Izzy with Clary and Gabrielle in the middle of everything. They both are very confused by what is going on.

  
Alec stabs one of the demons and it evaporates into nothing.

  
“W-what the?” Gabrielle asks, seeing it disappear.

  
One of the demons knocks Jace over and he drops his blade, which stops glowing and just looks like a cylinder. The demon knocks Jace to the ground and he struggles with it. Clary picks up the dropped blade and it lights back up, stabbing into the demon on top of Jace and causing it to evaporate and Clary to scream.

  
“C-clary...we..should run!” Gabrielle says.

  
“Good idea!” Clary exclaims and the two girls take off running out of the club.

  
They both head to Clary’s home, when they get there, they are surprised to see another woman there.

  
“M-mom?” Gabrielle asks. “B-but why are you here?”

  
“Where’s my mom?” Clary asks the woman. “What’s going on here?”

  
“Your mother is here, we figured this day would come when you two would meet,” Gabrielle’s mother says.

  
“What are you talking about? Why does she think that my sister has tattoos? And we just watched some people kill people. And I accidently killed someone!” Clary exclaims.

  
“It wasn’t a human, Clarissa. It was a demon and your sister does have marks like these,” Maria shows her runes on her upper arm.

  
“I don’t see anything.”

  
“Guys, we’ve got a problem.” Dot runs into the room. “They’ve found us. They’ll be here any second. We have to set the plan into motion.”

  
“Jocelyn! We need to get the girls to safety!” Maria calls.

  
“Dot, open the portal,” Jocelyn says, appearing into the room. She goes over to Clary and pushed something into ther pocket, then puts a necklace around her neck. “You need to get to Luke. Tell him the Circle found us. Trust no one but Luke. Do you understand, Clary?”

  
“Mom, what’s going on?” Clary asks, seeing Gabrielle is given things as well.

  
“Where’s Luke right now, Clary?” Jocelyn asks her daughter, ignoring the question.

  
“T-the station.”

  
“I love you,” Jocelyn says, then pushed Clary through the portal.

  
“Find Antonio, stay with Clary alright?” Maria says to Gabrielle. “I love you.” She also pushes Gabrielle into the portal.

  
The two girls end up at the police station and look at each other, very confused as to what is happening.

  
“We should go inside,” Gabrielle finally says.

  
Clary nods and they head into the station and towards Luke’s desk, hoping that he’ll have some sort of answer.

  
“I have nothing to tell you,” Luke says, making the girls stop.

  
“You and your daughter have been around Jocelyn for years. She even calls Jocelyn her mother. You have to know where it is,” a voice says.

  
“She wouldn’t tell me, and I only let my daughter around her so she had a female figure in her life, that’s it.”

  
“Fifteen years and you’ve got nothing? I don’t buy it. What do you know, Greymark?”

  
“I know that Maria and her daughter are alive, despite Valentine’s attempt to kill them,” Luke says.

  
“Impossible,” the voice says. “There’s no way they could have survived that fire.”

  
“I’m not sure how they did either, but they are alive. Maria runs a flower shop.”

  
“Where?” the voice asks. “If you help us, maybe Valentine will spare you instead of putting you down like the rest of your filthy kind.”

  
“The high end flower shop, it’s hard to miss,” Luke says, crossing his arms. “That’s all I have for you, now I have to get back to work.”

  
Clary turns around and runs out of the police station and gets separated from Gabrielle, making her way back home to her mother. But when she gets there, the apartment is empty and a mess. “Hello? Mom?”

  
“Clary,” Dot says. “You shouldn’t be here.”

  
“Where’s my mother? What happened? What’s going on? How did I just end up at the police station?” Clary asks her, rapidfire.

  
“Oh, Clary, you should have stayed with your friend,” Dot says, her voice getting darker.

  
“Dot? What’s going on?” Clary asks, backing away from her friend.

  
Dot says nothing as she attacks Clary, turning into a demon right in front of her.

  
Clary tries to run away but ends up cornered by the demon. “Dot, please don’t kill me.”

  
That’s when the demon evaporates in front of Clary’s eyes and the blonde guy is standing in front of her, a blade in his hand. “You’re welcome.”

  
“H-how did you know?” Clary asks, taking deep breaths.

  
“I didn’t. I came to find you to find out what you are and how you can see me and still not understand what’s going on,” Jace tells her. “I’m Jace.”

  
“W-what I don’t understand is that my friend and I can see what others can’t and we both witnessed you and your friends kill things! Then I’m sent through a portal and Dot was a monster,” Clary rambles.

  
“Are you alright? You look really pale,” Jace tells her.

  
“I feel...dizzy.” Clary says, then collapses.

  
Jace catches her before she falls over and then sets her down on the couch gently. “I hope I’m right about you.” He pulls out his stele and draws a healing rune on her neck before lifting her back up and carrying her to the Institute and into the world that her mother had tried so hard to shelter her from.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Jess sits at her sister’s bedside in the infirmary, waiting for her to wake up. She looks over at Jace, who is sprawled out on one of the chairs, looking impatient, as usual. “You don’t need to be here. Why don’t you go bother Alec or something?” 

“Just to make sure she doesn’t panic and think all of it was a dream,” Jace says. “When did Izzy say Toni will be back from patrol?”

“I don’t know. She was talking to you, not me. And don’t you think it’ll be better for her to talk to her sister when she wakes up instead of a narcissistic blonde guy that she doesn’t know?” Jess asks him. 

“And think everything that happened was a bad dream? Nah, I’ll just sit here, you can talk,” Jace says, leaning back.

“Jace, it’s not her. Her wrist says JH, not JW. Sorry to disappoint you,” Jess says. “I’d rather you go sleep around with one of your bimbos than mess around with my little sister.” 

“Jess, it’s not about that. I need to be sure she will be okay after what happened.”

“Her mother is one of us. I told you,” Jess says, but knows that the only person that can win an argument with Jace is Alec. 

“I know, also Hodge told me to stay here. I rather not anger that man, remember what happened last time?” Jace says.

“You’re the only one that can make him mad,” Jess reminds him. “He’s pretty even tempered.” 

“Izzy!” Jace calls, seeing her walk by. “When is your man going to be back?”

“Don’t call him that, it sounds creepy. And he’ll be back soon. He’s finishing up his patrol.” Izzy climbs the stairs to the infirmary. “Your girlfriend still isn’t awake yet?” 

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Jace says. “And no, she’s still out of it.”

“Huh. That’s weird. I thought for sure she’d be awake by now,” Izzy says. “What kind of demon did you say attacked her?” 

“A shapeshifter, it took the form of some woman named Dot,” Jace reminds.

“Well, I hope she wakes up soon,” Izzy says. “It’ll be nice to have another girl around.” 

“Damn, where did she go?” Gabrielle breathes, leaning against a wall. “I..I should hide somewhere, but where?” Gabrielle stands straight and looks around, she must have gotten lost when she ran off because she doesn’t recognize anything around her. “Great, just what I need,” she sighs. “Way to go Stark, you got lost.” As she begins to walk, she notices a familiar figure, it's one of the men who were at the station. Gabrielle freezes, what is she going to do? 

“Yeah, boss, we’ve got a lead,” the man says on the phone, walking towards Gabrielle. 

“Oh no,” She whispers, backing up slowly but that’s all she can do. “Please...someone help..” 

There’s no one around, though. Not that she can see. The Circle Member keeps heading in her general direction, not seeing her yet. Gabrielle continues to back up, looking for somewhere to hide, but there aren’t many places.

Suddenly, someone grabs her, then the next thing she knows, she’s on the roof of the nearest building. She gasps and falls to the floor, she looks up at who helped her.

“Sorry about that,” the boy says, rolling up his sleeves, revealing his rune covered arms. “Couldn’t let that asshole find you.” 

“You...you’re like the others,” Gabrielle says.

“I’m a Shadowhunter, yes,” he says. “We all have runes. They give us power. Who else do you know that can jump onto a 10 story building?” 

“A shadowhunter? What is that?” she asks.

“We hunt demons and protect the mundanes,” he says. “We keep our world secret.” 

“Mundanes....I hear my mother say that, she usually said it after a very nasty customer left,” Gabrielle says, standing up.

“Mundanes are normal people,” he tells her. “I’m Toni.” 

“I’m Gabrielle.”

“Nice to meet you. Where are you headed? I can escort you there. It’s rare that I find people with the Sight that I don’t know about,” Toni says. 

“Um...actually my mother told me to find Antonio, I think that’s my older brother’s name....but I thought he was dead,” Gabrielle says.

“My name is Antonio, but I don’t have a sister. It’s just my father and I. I can take you to the Institute. Although, Alec might skin me alive if I do,” Toni says. 

“Oh, well I’m sure no one has a weird last name like me anyway,” Gabrielle shrugs. “Going anywhere then my mother’s shop is good, those men are after me.”

“By weird, do you mean compound?” Toni asks

“Yea, it is. Starkweather, strange don’t you think? I normally go by Stark,” Gabrielle tells him.

“That’s my last name. All Shadowhunters have compound last names. Follow me,” Toni says. 

“How do you expect me to get down from here? I may be strong but I doubt I can get down.”

“This might hurt a little,” Toni says, pulling something out of his pocket. “Give me your arm.” 

She gives him a look before holding out her right arm.

He uses his stele to draw a rune on her arm. 

“Ow, but cool,” Gabrielle says.

“Follow me.” Toni jumps onto the roof of the next building. 

Gabrielle follows Toni the entire way to the institute, they don’t really say much to one another.

He jumps off one final building and lands in front of what looks like a really old church at first glance. 

Gabrielle doesn’t question it. 

“Here,” he says, and draws another rune on her, allowing her to see that Institute as it truly is. 

“Whoa,” Gabrielle says, looking at the Institute. 

“Come on, let’s get inside,” Toni says, pushing open the door.  The building is buzzing with people. Toni leads her through the building and into the library. “Dad?” 

“The girl has no place to go, Alec,” Hodge’s voice says from inside the library. “We have to let her stay here. She’s one of us.” 

“Fine, but if one more comes I say we kick them out while we still have time,” Alec says.

“Alec, for all you know the next stranger in the door could be MB,” Hodge says. “You’re 21. It’s really odd that you haven’t found her yet.” 

“I doubt my soulmate is a Mundane.”

“The girl is not a Mundane. I knew her mother at the Academy,” Hodge tells him. “She just needs training.”

“I mean, no more mundanes in the insti-”

“Dad!” Toni calls.

“Down here, Toni,” Hodge says. “I will see you later, Alec. Try to be nice to her. Jace seems to like her.” 

“Fine,” Alec sighs, leaving the library. 

“How can I help you, Toni?” Hodge asks, his back still to his son as he re shelves a couple of books. 

“I found another hunter while I was on patrol,” Toni says. “The Circle is after her and she said her last name is Starkweather.”

“You found Gabrielle?” Hodge says. “I thought she and your mother had been killed by the Circle years ago.” 

“Dad, how did you know her name?” he asks as Gabrielle walks up next to Toni. 

“Your father knows my name?” Gabrielle asks.

“You’re twins,” Hodge tells the pair. 

“Twins!?” the pair yell.

“Yes, twins. When things went south, your mother took Gabrielle and ran,” Hodge says. 

“But why not find you dad?” Gabrielle asks. “I’ve spent my entire life thinking that you were dead.”

“Your mother must have made the same assumption about Antonio and I that I did about you and your mother,” Hodge says. 

“Oh, well...what am I to do now? Mom is gone, taken by the Circle,” Gabrielle says.

“They took Maria too? Taking Jocelyn I understand because she took the Cup and no one else knows where it is,” Hodge tells them, sitting down at a circular table in the library. 

“I heard Mom once saying over the phone that she is keeping a cup safe, I wasn’t sure what she was talking about but maybe it’s what Jocelyn took,” Gabrielle says, walking to the table with Toni. “Mom and Jocelyn seem to know each other well.”

“It doesn’t make sense. Maria and Jocelyn were never close at school. I’m surprised she gave it to anyone, but if she did, my first guess would have been Lucian,” Hodge says, surprise in his voice. “Regardless, we need to find the Cup. Do you have any idea where it would be?” 

“I don’t know, it could be anywhere between Mom’s flower shop and Jocelyn’s shop,” Gabrielle says.

“I’ll send the team in the morning,” Hodge says. “Even Alec can’t argue about finding the Cup.” 

“Oh yea, do you know anything about this?” She shows her left wrist with JM.

“They’re your soulmate’s initials,” Hodge tells her. “It’s just something Shadowhunters and Downworlders are born with. J might be Jonathan, but I’m not really sure about the M. There’s a lot of Shadowhunter families and I haven’t traced all the bloodlines.” 

“Okay, how will I know when I meet him?”

“Well, for one, he’ll have your initials on his wrist. And two, Antonio, show your sister your wrist.”

Toni rolls up his sleeve. The letters IL are now golden and have formed a sort of artistic design around them. 

“Wow.”

“Izzy’s is the same. All couples have different designs and the longer you’re together, the more intricate it gets,” Toni explains to her. 

“I see, so when I meet him the design will show up?” Gabrielle inquiries.

“When you meet him, the letters turn from black to gold. Then once you get to know each other, the font changes to their handwriting. Then the design slowly starts to form. First dates, first kiss, first I love you, stuff like that makes the design grow,” Toni tells her. 

Gabrielle nods her head, now she knows why she has these letters on her arm. She wonders who could have GS on his arm.

 

“It has to be her, Alec,” Jace says, looking at the girl, who is starting to wake up. “I don’t care about the H.” He shows Alec his wrist, where CF is now golden. 

“I will have to speak to Hodge about this,” Alec says. “This is strange if both yours and hers have turned gold.”

“You know you’re basically in charge. You don’t have to tell Hodge everything,” Jace tells him. “I doubt this has happened in any of his books.” 

“I understand that, but he does know a lot. I guess this proves that she is indeed one of us, I just hope we don’t get another newbie.”

“What do you have against new people? Last time I checked, you haven’t found your soulmate,” Jace says. “She could be the next one through the door. Or you and Jess can start a forever alone club.” 

“They hold us back, especially when they no training like her,” Alec says, ignoring the last part. “I rather not waste my time with someone who has no experience.”

“So we train her. What’s the big deal?” Jace asks. “We know she’s got the blood. It shouldn’t be too hard.” 

“I hope you’re right.”

“Guys!!” Toni yells, running around.

“Infirmary!” Jace calls, moving away from the bed and back to his chair in the corner. 

Toni almost slams into the doorframe as he slides to a stop, Jess and Izzy laugh as they walk up.

“I got news!” Toni exclaims happily.

“You’ve met MB and we can stop dealing with sulky Alec?” Jace asks. 

“No, he will be forever be sulky.”

“Did you meet RS?” Jess asks, her voice full of faked enthusiasm. 

“Sorry, but no,” Toni says.

“I don’t like this game. Just tell us, Toni,” Izzy says, walking over to him. 

“Toni, stop with the annoying game,” Gabrielle says, walking in.

“Meet my sister, Gabrielle!” Toni smiles.

“Great, another one,” Alec grumbles. “Just what we need. Another untrained Shadowhunter.” 

“You have a sister?” Izzy asks, excited. She goes over to Gabrielle and hugs her. “I’m Isabelle, but everyone calls me Izzy.” 

“Hi Izzy,” Gabrielle smiles, hugging her back. “You can call me Ellie.”

“How do you feel about high heels?” Izzy asks her. 

“I’m actually very skilled in them, I can do ballet in heels.” Ellie smirks.

“You and I are going to be best friends. We’re basically related anyways,” Izzy tells her, then goes back over to Toni.

“You were in Pandemonium,” Jess says, looking at Ellie. “You were asking me all those questions.” 

“Oh yea, you’re Jess, right? Sorry about that, I am naturally curious about things,” Ellie apologizes.

“Well, your new best friend is my parabatai, so I guess that makes us friends. It’s just that Clary doesn’t know about all this stuff. Mom didn’t want her to. I was just honoring her wishes.” 

“Oh, I get it, my mom kept it from me too. But your mom did try to explain it, so did my mother but the Circle found us and they sent us away.”

“I wonder why she didn’t come find my father,” Jess says. “Seems like Mom would have wanted her to learn about all of this from him.” 

“We did go to him but he was with two Circle members and said he never cared about Clary or Jocelyn and he gave away my location as well as my mother’s,” Ellie tells her.

“He was just trying to protect my mother and Clary,” Jess says. “He told me to be careful and to pay attention to my surroundings just in case they came after me.” 

“Well that’s all good for you two, but now I have no home and my mother is gone. They will not stop until they get me.”

“They have no interest in you,” Jess says. “They just want the Cup.” 

Ellie doesn’t believe her, something else is going to happen and it won’t be good for her or her family.

“Hey, I think she’s waking up,” Izzy says, glancing at Clary. 

Clary slowly opens her eyes, before sitting up and looks around.

“Everyone out unless your name start with a J. She needs some privacy,” Jess tells the others. 

Everyone besides Jace leaves the room.

“What’s going on?” Clary asks, looking between her sister and Jace.

“Well, it’s sorta a long story,” Jess tells her.


	3. Chapter 3

“Demons? Werewolves? Are you insane?” Clary asks, looking between the two people in the room.

“Don’t forget about vampires and faeries,” Jace chimes in.

“Not helping, Jonathan,” Jess snaps at him, using his full name. It was a habit that the others knew not to screw with her when she uses their full names. 

“It shouldn’t hard for her to understand after killing a demon and then having another one in her face,” Jace says.

“You’re used to our world. She’s not. And our mother had a warlock take her memories of our world away,” Jess tells him. 

“Then you explain everything, I’ll join Toni on helping his sister with her training.” Jace stands up. 

“Please don’t hit on her in front of Toni, Jace,” Jess says as she watches him leave the room. 

“I like redheads better than brunettes,” Jace calls back, going out of sight.

“It’s never stopped you before!” she yells back at him, before turning to her sister. “Any questions?”

“Explain, why mom kept this from me,” Clary says, seriously.

“To protect you from the Circle members that the Clave never managed to catch. The less you knew about our world, the harder you are for them to find,” Jess explains. 

“Why did you get to know and it was hidden from me?”

“My father chose to tell me. Your mother chose to hide it from you,” Jess says. “By the way, my dad is a werewolf.” 

“But isn’t also a Shadowhunter if you’re one?”

“My father was a Shadowhunter until he was bitten. You can’t be both. I’m not a werewolf because it’s not a genetic thing. Plus, the exact timeline of when my dad was bitten and when I was conceived is a little jumbled together.” 

“Oh, okay. Well....what happens now?”

“Well, we train you and work on locating Mom and if Alec allows, work to stop the Circle.” Jess stands up. “There’s sort of something else, too. I’m assuming you can see my runes now?” 

“Yes, those are what Gabrielle was talking about right?” Clary says, getting out of bed.

“Yeah. Runes. They give us our power. I’ll teach you about them. They’ll come in handy for you. But look at your wrist,” Jess tells her. 

“JH....what? Why do I have this?” 

“Everyone in our world does.” Jess holds up her wrist so Clary can see the two plain black letters on her wrist. 

“But why?” Clary asks. “And why are mine gold and yours are black?”

“Because I haven’t met whoever RS is,” Jess says. “Yours are gold because well, you just met Jace.” 

“Him? What does it mean? Why did it turn gold because of him?” Clary rambles. 

“No one knows exactly why, but anyone in our world, Shadowhunters, Downworlders, have… well… they’re called soul marks. We’re born with them. It helps us find our soulmate,” Jess says, trying to explain it gently. 

“Soulmates!?”

“Yes,” Jess says. “Once you meet them, the letter turn gold and to their handwriting. As you spend more time together, a design formed and gets more complicated. If you want to know what that looks like, ask Izzy or Toni.” 

“This is a lot to take in,” Clary says, walking over to Jess.

“I know. And I’m sorry. Mom had planned out how to tell you all of this, but given the circumstances, you need to know everything. Mom gave you something that looks like a pen, correct?” 

Clary nods and holds it out. “Gabrielle got one too I think.”

Jess reaches into her pocket and pulls out hers. “It’s called a stele. It’s what we use to draw our runes. Keep it safe. It could save your life some day.” 

“Right,” Clary says, putting it in her pocket. 

“Jace told me the Mundane was awake,” Alec says, climbing the steps and walking into the infirmary. 

“I’m not exactly a mundane anymore,” Clary says.

“You don’t have any training, so you’re about as useful as one,” Alec says.

“Clary, this is Alec. He’s in charge when his parents aren’t here. And yes, he’s always grumpy. Alec, this is Clary. And she’s not going anywhere, seeing as she’s paired with your parabatai.” Jess introduces the pair to each other. 

“Great, well come on, we will start your training,” Alec says.

“Don’t go too hard on her, Alec.” Jess warns him. “She’s still recovering from almost dying from demon venom.” 

“Fine.”

“Good luck,” Jess tells her sister, then heads out of the infirmary.

“What’s a parabatai?” Clary ask, walking over to Alec. “And why is Jace yours?” 

“It’s a bond between two people, usually friends,” Alec explains as they head to the training room. “You will know when they are in danger, angry or been hurt.”

“Oh. That’s cool. Does everyone get one?” Clary asks. 

“Normally, no. It is a rare thing to find someone you really connect with, your sister and Izzy are parabatai,” Alec tells her as they enter where Toni and Ellie are training. “If you feel that connection with someone, then you may go through the ceremony.”

“Sound interesting. So, what are we going to do first?” Clary says, looking around the training area. “This place is kinda awesome.” 

“We are going to test your hand-eye coordination, see what the twins are doing?” Alec looks over as Toni tries to hit Ellie with a staff, but she blocks some of the attacks.

“I’m an artist. I have pretty good hand eye coordination. Let's do this,” Clary says. She and Alec begin her training. 

 

“I don’t remember anything, I told you,” CLary says that night at dinner. “If I did, I would tell you.”

“Maybe we can take her back to the warlock that took her memories,” Jess suggests. “Magnus Bane.” 

“Magnus? He’s a warlock?” Ellie asks.

“Yeah. High Warlock of Brooklyn,” Jess says. “How do you know Magnus Bane?” 

“He would order flowers from my mother’s shop and sometimes come to my shows.”

“What does a warlock need flowers for?” Alec asks, arms crossed over his chest and a grumpy look on his face. 

“To decorate his club,” Ellie responds, with a bit of sass. “He’s also a family friend.”

“Alright. Then you, Jace, Clary, and Izzy can go visit him and get some answers,” Alec says. “Tomorrow morning.”

“Are you too scared to go, Alec?” Izzy asks.

“Someone has to do patrols. Jess and I can handle them,” Alec says. “Why would I be afraid?” 

“That is a lame excuse, Toni is on patrol this week,” Izzy reminds. “You didn’t seem too happy to be at the club yesterday.”

“Well, now that the Circle is out there, I think we need more than one person patrolling the city,” Alec defends. “I have no reason to be afraid of some warlock.” 

“Then come with us, Jess and Toni can handle the patrol, right?” Izzy looks at her parabatai. 

“I can come with you guys if Alec would rather be on patrol,” Jess says. 

“Chicken.” Jace coughs at Alec, causing Clary and Ellie to snort.

“Who is acting head of this place? Me. And if I say we need to double up on patrols, we double up on patrols. I thought you were all old enough to go talk to a warlock without needing a babysitter. Do you need me to give you a bottle, change your diapers, and tuck you in to bed tonight, too?” Alec sasses them. 

“Sorry, Alec,” Ellie apologizes. “I’m laughing at Jace, also you may want to know that Magnus has AL on his wrist.”

“Warlocks are immortal. There’s probably several million AL’s in his lifespan,” Alec says. “Besides, he’s not exactly my type.” 

Ellie gives him a look, she knows a lot about Magnus, but she won’t say anything. 

“You think I haven’t run into other MB’s before? I’ve meet a handful of them. Hell, Mark Blackthorn lives in LA. It doesn’t mean anything. I have more important things to worry about than finding whoever it is that I have to be stuck with the rest of my life,” Alec says. “Clary, Jace, and Ellie will head over to the warlock’s house in the morning. Does anyone else want to question my orders?” 

“No, Mr. Grumpy Gills,” Jace says, walking off.

“I swear, he is the world’s tallest toddler,” Alec says. “And I’m attached to him. Why did I do that again?” 

“Because you can be a softie,” Izzy says.

“Don’t you have something better to do?” Alec asks her. 

“No, Toni and Jess took over the Rune lesson for the newbies.”

“Then go out on a patrol. I meant what I said. We need to step up on patrols. I’ll have Jess talk to her father about the wolves patrolling a well.”

“Right,” Izzy leaves to patrol.

Alec heads up to the training area and works out for a few hours before going to bed. He never likes meeting anyone with initials MB. Alec really has no interest in getting into a relationship or getting married. He’s fine with how things are right now. He wants to become the head of the Institute. 

 

In the morning, Clary, Ellie, Izzy, and Jace head to Brooklyn to visit Magnus Bane to hopefully get some answers and get Clary’s memory back. They go to his loft and ring the doorbell. 

“Who dares disturb the great Magnus Bane?” Magnus exclaims when he answers the door. “Do you have any idea what time it is?” 

“Nine am?” Ellie asks. “We need your help with something.”

“Ellie. I’m glad you’re okay. I heard about what happened. But can’t you come back later?” 

“I wish we could, but we really need to know about Clary’s, and possibly, my memories.”

Magnus groans, but steps aside so that the group can enter the loft. He closes the door behind them, then goes and sits on the couch. “Anyone want anything?” 

“You talk to the others, I know where you keep everything,” Ellie says, going to the kitchen.

“I’m afraid I can’t be of much help,” Magnus says. “I fed Clary’s memories to a memory demon. Summoning demons is nasty business. It will be very difficult to retrieve them.” 

“But there is a way, right?” Jace questions.

“Yes. But why should I help you guys?” Magnus asks them. “This isn’t my problem.” 

“It is, you took my memories away!” Clary says. “We need those memories to save my mom!”

“I took your memories away because it was what your mother paid me to do. That doesn’t make me obligated to help you guys.” 

“Fine, then should I tell them about AL?” Ellie asks, walking out with tea and Magnus’s favorite liquor. “How you’ve waited centuries for him or her?”

“I’m a warlock. I’m immortal. We always spend a long time looking for our soulmates. Sometimes it takes a while.” 

“Or how bout you kept on watching Alec while he was on a hunt at your club?”

“There were Shadowhunters in my club. I wanted to make sure they didn’t cause any trouble. Which, they did of course. Shadowhunters are nothing but trouble.” 

“Fine, don’t help. Leave Valentine to take over everything,” Ellie says. “Wait for him to come and kill you because you are not like him.”

“Fine. I’ll summon your demon. But it’ll be dangerous. And it might not even work. Then will you people leave me alone?” 

“Yes.”

“Clary, how are you with chalk drawings?” Magnus asks the artist. 

“I’m pretty good,” Clary says.

“Good.” Magnus gets up. He grabs some chalk and hands it and a picture of a symbol to Clary. “Make it big.” 

Clary starts to draw the symbol as the other hunters watch. As she does, Ellie rubs her right arm, she does this when she nervous about something or senses something bad.

Magnus moves around his loft, gathering needed ingredients for the spell. 

“Done,” Clary says, standing up.

“Alright,” Magnus says, mixing the ingredients in a bowl and setting it in the center. “Everyone stand on one of the points of the star.”

Everyone goes to stand on one of the points of the star.

Magnus starts to chant in an ancient language, then hold out his hand to Clary, who is standing on the point next to his. 

Clary looks at his hand before taking it, she holds her hand out to Jace, who is on her other side. They all take hands and Magnus continues to chant. The demon appears in the center of the ring.

“It’s going to take a memory from each of us of the person we love the most,” Magnus explain. “Then, Clary will get her memory back.” 

They all nod and watch the demon. It takes a memory away from everyone. Clary’s in of her mother, Jace’s and Izzy’s are of Izzy, Ellie’s is of her mother, and Magnus’s is of someone the other’s don’t recognize. After the demon takes a memory of each of them, it returns Clary’s memories to her. 

“Clary?” Ellie asks, once the Demon is gone.

“I don’t know where it is, sorry,” Clary says, sitting down on her point of the star. “But my mother hid so much from me. How could she do that to me?” 

“She wanted to protect you,” Magnus says. “She did not want this life for you. But she knew she would have to tell you when the Circle would come and find her.”

“Why did you help her?” Clary asks, looking over at Magnus. “It’s not like she could have paid you that much.” 

“She was a good friend to me, as well as your mother, Gabrielle. I was willing to help both of them, of course, I tried to convince them to tell you sooner about all of this,” Mangus responds.

“You know a lot of people, right?” Clary asks. “Did you ever meet my sister?” 

“Jessica? Of course I met her, she would ask me to keep an eye on you whenever you were at my club.”

“She’s not even that much older than me,” Clary says, standing up and heading back towards Magnus’s living room. “Yet she knows so much more than I do about all of this.”

“I don’t suppose you know who her soulmate might be?” Izzy asks Magnus, following him and Clary into the living room and sitting down on the couch. 

“Which one? Clarissa has already met her soulmate,” Magnus says, getting a drink.

“How could you possibly know that?” Clary asks him. “I met him yesterday.” 

“I could sense it when you both were at my club. I can tell when someone has met their soulmate.”

“Why? Is it some sort of magic or something?” Clary asks, getting a glass of water from the kitchen. She remembers this place well now and knows where everything is. 

“In a way, yes. All warlocks can tell and they know what your initials stand for as well.”

“So you know who RS is,” Izzy says, sitting up straight on the couch and looking over at Magnus. “He’s my parabatai soulmate. Also, if you know, then why doesn’t the clave just use warlocks to find soulmates?” 

“It’s supposed to be a natural process,” Magnus tells her. “They rather not have someone find them by being told beforehand.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Izzy says. “I think Alec somehow knows too and that’s why he didn’t come here.” 

“I know, we have met before,” Magnus shows his wrist.

“If yours is gold, then why is Alec’s black?” Izzy asks him. “That doesn’t make any sense.” 

“I made it that way, it will change back soon.”

“When did you meet?” 

“Last year, your mission in my club.” Magnus shrugs.

“I remember that mission,” Izzy says. “I almost died.” 

“And he came to me to help you, I did because he seem so distraught.” 

“He wants to be the head of the Institute and he’s afraid no one will take him seriously,” Izzy says, slouching back again. “You know how people feel about Shadowhunters and downworlders.” 

“I understand, that’s why I am letting him have time to understand what is happening. He isn’t the only one with a downworlder mate.”

“Who else has one?” Ellie asks, handing Izzy and Jace drinks.

“Well, for one, Clary’s sister. But I guess that doesn’t count yet. Yours is a complicated story, so that’ll be fun. I have a friend named Tessa that’s a warlock that has two shadowhunter soulmates. I know a couple faeries with shadowhunter soulmates. Unfortunately most of the time they never find each other.” 

“My sister’s is a downworlder?” Clary asks, now interested.

“Yeah. She can find him herself. He lives in the city, so it shouldn’t take too long, especially with what’s going on.”

“You said mine is complicated,” Ellie says, sitting next to Clary. “How is it complicated?”

“It’s not my place to talk about it,” Magnus says, picking up Chairman Meow off the floor and setting the cat on his lap. “You’ll find him sooner or later.” 

“Fine,” she sighs. 

“We better head back to the institute,” Jace says. “Alec will want to know what happened.”

“Marinette,” Magnus says, looking at Clary. “Simon’s new singer. She’s a Shadowhunter too. You’ll need her.” 

“Marinette? Really?” Clary asks, surprised.

“Yep. She’s trained too,” Magnus says, showing the Shadowhunters to the door. 

“Right, I will go and find her.”

“See you later,” Magnus says, closing the door behind them. 


	4. Chapter 4

“Simon, these songs are amazing,” Marinette says as the band looks through the music.

“You think so?” Simon asks her, smiling. “I just write from the heart, you know. I’ve just always loved music.” 

“Of course! They are so beautiful.”

“Where did you move here from?” Simon asks her, setting up for practice. “Your accent is not a New York one.” 

“Oh, I’m from England. I moved her after my parents passed away,” Marinette tells him.

Simon stops and looks at her. “Oh. I’m sorry. That must have been really sad. My dad died when I was a kid and I was really sad. I can’t imagine losing my mom too.” 

“It was hard, they were in an accident. I was the only one who came out alive,” Marinette says, rubbing her arm.

“Those are cool tattoos,” Simon tells her, looking at her arm.

“Oh, thank you.” She smiles.

“Who’s SL? Old boyfriend or a family member or something?” he asks, noticing the golden letters. “Kinda odd that they have the same initials as me.” 

“Oh, these?” She blushes. “Well...it’s hard to explain.”

“Oh, okay,” Simon says. He doesn’t push the subject. “We should probably start practicing now.” 

 “Finally,” Eric says. “You two have been flirting the entire time! Simon, just kiss her or something!”

“I was not flirting with her,” Simon says, taking a sudden interest in organizing sheet music. 

“Your red face would say otherwise,” Matt points out.

“Can we just practice?” Simon asks, picking up his guitar and putting the strap around his shoulder. 

Marinette starts to do her warm ups and Matt and Eric notice Simon’s smile. They give each other a smirk, they are so going to tease him now.

 

“So you found out nothing important?” Alec asks after they filled him in. “We still don’t know where the Cup is and your solution is to bring in another stranger?” 

“She’s a Shadowhunter and is trained,” Izzy says. “She will be helpful.”

“The five of us: you, me, Jace, Jess, and Toni are a team. We’ve trained together. We work together. We don’t have time to get used to a new person and train two new people.” 

“We need all the help we can get,” Toni says. “Jace will look up her information while Clary goes find her.”

“Fine,” Alec sighs. “But one of you has to be responsible for her.” 

“I will take it up, she can help me train my sister,” Toni says.

“Alright,” Alec says. “Clary, when you get back, come to me. You need a rune lesson. Toni can show the new girl around and if she wants, she can stay here. But if one more person tells me about a new person, I will kill you.” 

“Right,” Clary nods, leaving the institute. 

“Hey, Alec,” Jace says.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Alec says, turning to one of the computer screens and putting in Marinette’s name. 

“Just wanted to let you know we met your mate,” Jace says, going to look at the screen.

“I don’t care,” Alec says, scrolling through the file. “London. I wonder why they sent her here without telling us.” 

“Look there,” Jace points to the next line. “Her parents are gone.”

“She’s of age. It doesn’t matter. She should still be at the London Institute,” Alec says, then changes the screen to Jocelyn’s profile. 

“I’ll tell Hodge, maybe he can find out why she’s here.”

“I don’t see how Hodge will be helpful, but you can go talk to him. He probably doesn’t even know who she is,” Alec says, scrolling through the profile. 

 

“Man, Mari you are amazing, right Simon?” Matt says as Clary enters.

“She’s  very good singer. Otherwise I wouldn’t have let her into the band,” Simon puts his guitar away. 

“Not only is she an amazing singer, but she can dance too,” Eric says. “On top of being a great looker.”

Simon looks up and sees Clary. “Hey. What’s up?” 

“I need to talk to Marinette, unless you want to flirt with her more,” Clary smirks.

“Et tu, Clary?” Simon says, then dramatically fakes his death. He playfully falls to the floor, then looks over at Clary. “What do you need Mari for?” 

“I just want to ask her a few things, get to know my best friend’s girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s just a singer in the band,” Simon says, sitting up. “But practice is over, so you can steal her if you want. Just make sure you bring her back.” 

“Sounds like she’s yours,” Clary smiles. “Come on Marinette.” 

“O-okay,” Mari smiles, a blush on her face.

Clary and Mari head outside and start walking towards the Institute. “So, you’re a Shadowhunter?” 

“How did you find out?” Mari asks.

“Magnus Bane told us about you and that you were in town. Why did you move here without telling anyone?” Clary asks her turn down a street. 

“The new heads of the London institute thought it would be better if I left,” Mari says, hugging herself. “I was so depressed, it was better if I left. For my own health.”

“Alec says the Clave didn’t tell him that there was a new Shadowhunter in New York,” Clary says. “By the way, try not to annoy him.” 

“I will try, the Clave should have told him I was coming. It was their idea to send me to New York.”

“He’s the tall one who always looks grumpy,” Clary informs her as they arrive in front of the institute.  

“Right,” Mari nods.

Clary pushes open the door and they walk down the hall and into the main area. She sees Alec from across the room, in the training area. “Over there. Good luck.” 

Mari nods and heads over to Alec.

Clary watches her approach Alec. Since Alec’s shirt is off, she can see his arm and can see that the letters on his arm hand switched to gold. 

“Alec?” Mari asks.

“I take it you’re Marinette?” Alec ask, turning to look at her. He takes off his boxing gloves and grabs his towel.

“I am.”

“Well, one of the team has volunteered to help you out,” Alec tells her. “His name is Toni. He’s about my height, hispanic, dark hair.” 

“Okay, also the Clave was supposed to tell you I was coming and why,” Mari says.

“Well, I didn’t hear anything from them. And I’m up my ears in trouble right now, with the Circle and two new Shadowhunters,” Alec says, pulling his shirt back on. 

“I get that, I can help with the new Shadowhunters if you’d like.”

“No, they need to be trained by my team. Tomorrow I need to assess you. You’ll have to get used to our style of fighting because the five of us have been working together over the years and know all about each other’s fighting styles.” 

“Right. If I may, can I return to my band practice? I was kind of with my soulmate,” Mari says, showing her wrist.

“Fine. But you really should organize your priorities. I don’t know how you do things in London, but we don’t really goof off or hang out with Mundanes.” 

“I get that, but I have a feeling something is going to happen and it will be soon. Discretely being on patrol is the best way to get intel.”

“Well, until you know the area and until I know you, I’m not putting you on patrols,” Alec says, exiting the training area. 

Mari watches him leave before heading out again, something is coming and she is using what she learned from her family to find out what it is.

“I warned you,” Clary says, walking over to Mari. “He’s not really good with newbies, apparently. But he likes his team.” 

“I’m not surprised from a Lightwood, his mother is prick as my mother would say,” Mari says. “She put too much pressure on him, I can see it.”

“Hey, we’re not all grumpy,” Izzy says, walking up to the two girls. “Isabelle Lightwood. Everyone calls me Izzy.” 

“Marinette Everheart, you can call me Mari,” Mari says.

“Alec’s just under a lot of stress without a proper outlet for his anger,” Izzy tells her. “He’s really just a big teddy bear.” 

“I can tell, he needs a hobby. Now I have to get back to Simon, I have a bad feeling something bad is going to happen.”

“Something worse?” Clary asks. “My mother got taken and the Circle is running around New York.” 

“Yes, something much worse,” Mari says, seriously. “The worse person you can meet.”

“Valentine,” Izzy says. “It’s not really that big of a surprise. You know, with the Circle all over the place.” 

“Not just him, a woman who refuses the accords and attacks anyone, mundanes and hunters.”

Jace walks over to the group. “Hey. Hodge wants us all in the library. Wants to tell us something.” 

“Okay,” Izzy says, all three of them following Jace to the library.

Hodge is seated at one of the tables, as are Jess and Toni. The four join him as Alec and Gabrielle enter the room and sit as well.

“I’m not supposed to talk about it, but there are things that you should all know. About Valentine and the Circle. It might help you. I don’t know,” Hodge tells the group of Shadowhunters. “You can’t let anyone know I told you anything I’m about to tell you.” 

“Okay, dad, what is it?” Toni asks, a bit uncertain.

“Very rarely, someone will be born without a soulmate. It either means they won’t live long enough to find their soulmate or they just aren’t meant to be with anyone. The Clave doesn’t actually want anyone to know about it.” 

The group look at one another, why tell them this? Each one of them have a mate.

“Valentine was one of those that didn’t have a soulmate. Therefore, he didn’t want any of the Circle to be with theirs. Clary, your mother is an example of this. Same with your parents,” Hodge looks at Jess and the Lightwoods. 

“Then how did you get away with it, Dad?” Toni asks. “Is that why they tried to kill Mom and Ellie?”

“Well, your mother and I knew each other already,” Hodge says. “The Circle was formed when we were all in the Shadowhunter Academy. Valentine tried to separate us, but we continued to date in secret. And then you two happened. And Valentine knew because, well.” He pushed up his sleeve and points to a part of the design that looks two hearts. “That part appeared. Your mother went into hiding. She left you with me, Toni, when you guys were babies, right before everything went to hell with the Uprising.” 

“Dad, why are you telling us this?” Ellie asks.

“You need to understand why what happened happened,” Hodge says, looking at the group. “Valentine was obsessed with Jocelyn. She fell in love with him. He was charming and it made him seem trustworthy. Back then any of us would have done what he said. Jocelyn had a son. You had an older brother, Clary. After he was born, Jocelyn grew concerned. He wasn’t like a normal baby. And Valentine was always busy. So she confided in her best friend, who is also her soulmate.” 

“How was he different?” Clary asks.

“His eyes were basically black, he never cried, and he could do things not even adult Shadowhunters could do,” Hodge says. “Valentine thought he was losing Jocelyn, so he started doing unspeakable things. He even betrayed Lucian. They were parabatai and Valentine tricked him, hoping to cause is death.” 

“That is one of the worse things you can do, betraying your parabatai,” Alec says.

“There is nothing worse than it. The breaking of the bond is also said to be the most painful thing you will ever feel,” Hodge says. “I never had one myself. I never found the right person.” 

“So he lead Luke to the werewolves and that’s what caused him to change,” Clary says, understanding how Luke became one.

“Yes. He assumed they would kill him or that Luke would kill himself if he changed,” Hodge says. “But he didn’t die and there was someone he would never abandon.” 

“Mom.”

“Well, two people then, I guess,” Hodge says, glancing over at Jess. “You were just a baby. No one knows what happened to your mother. She just vanished when you were a few days old.” 

Jess and Clary look at one another and take each other’s hands.

“You two have a closer bond than most actual siblings,” Hodge says, looking at them. “You would have made great parabatai if Jocelyn had not shielded Clary from the truth. No offense, Isabelle.” 

“None taken,” Izzy says. “But, you never told us what happened to Jocelyn’s first child, just what he was like.”

“Jonathan. He died when he was young. When the Uprising failed, Fairchild Manner got burned down. Jocelyn’s parents died in that fire. There was also the body of a man and a baby recovered. They were believed to be Jonathan and Valentine. I have no idea whose body it was now,” Hodge tells them. 

“Then can we be sure that Jonathan actually died?” Jace asks. “Knowing Valentine, he could have put two decoys there.”

Hodge looks at Jace, then back at Clary. “The letters on your arm. What are they?” 

“CM,” Jace replies.

“JH,” Clary says.

“The letters are never wrong,” Hodge says. “Yet, you were raised to believe that you were Jonathan Wayland. So that poses the question as to what happened to the real Jonathan Wayland.” 

As they sit and think, Toni and Gabrielle look at each other suddenly. Toni’s eyes fall to her wrist.

“Dad, what would happen if your soulmate dies before you meet them?” Toni asks.

“As I said, if one is going to die before they meet their soulmate, they don’t get one,” Hodge says, not looking up from the paper he is writing on. 

“Then I think Clary’s older brother is still alive.”

“Why do you say that?” Hodge asks, looking at his daughter. 

Gabrielle shows her left wrist where JM is, still black.

“There are a number of Shadowhunter families with last names that begin with M other than Morgenstern,” 

“It’s too coincidental dad,” Toni says, standing. “I’ve studied the bloodlines too. Not once did I see JM in our time.”

“I fear only Jocelyn would able to tell you if baby Jonathan had a soulmate,” Hodge says, then looks at Jace. “I think I know who you are, but I don’t know how you didn’t die.” 

“Who?” Jace demands.

“Your father, or who I think your father is, got married before Valentine started his anti-soulmate rampage. He was married to Luke’s sister. Valentine made them split up and stuck your father with a younger woman. She was more dedicated to Valentine. She loved your father. Obsession may be a better word for it. She became pregnant, but near the end of her pregnancy, your father was killed. When she heard the news, she took her own life.” 

“I..I must have been saved somehow,” Jace says.

“Valentine may have done some sort of experiments on your mother like he did with some of the others,” Hodge guesses. “It may have been him that saved you.” 

“So, now we know why he’s crazy and what he did,” Alec says. “Now we have to find the cup and stop him from continuing his plan.”

“If he gets his hands on the Cup first, there will be no stopping him,” Hodge says, then leaves the library. 

“Our first priority is getting the two who know it’s location without a doubt,” Alec says. “Jocelyn and Maria.”


	5. Chapter 5

“So, how do we find them?” Clary asks. “Is there a way to track them or something?” 

“Is there like, soulmate tracking after you meet them?” Gabrielle adds. 

“Yes, and it depends on how strong your bond is,” Alec says. “Soulmates work kinda like parabatai. The deeper e bond, the more you can feel. I always know where Jace is and I know when he has strong feelings.” 

“So, Dad and Luke can track our moms?” Gabrielle clarifies. 

“I’m not sure about either,” Jess says, turning on one of the computer screens and pulling up a map of the city to check for any reported attacks. “Your mother and father’s bond has weakened over time with the separation. Plus the fact that your father can’t leave the Institute. My father and Jocelyn’s relationship is a bit complicated. He may be able to find her through their bond or his tracking skills, though.” 

“So....should we ask?” Marinette asks.

“I’ll talk to him. Clary, you should come with me,” Jess says. 

“Right, Mari can you check on Simon? Something doesn’t seem right with him lately,” Clary says.

“Okay.” Mari nods.

“Jace, you and Toni go patrol the city,” Alec says. “I’ll see if I can get anything else helpful out of Hodge.” 

“Looks like I’ll be continuing Elle’s training,” Izzy says.

“Alright,” Alec says. “Just try not to kill her. You all have your orders. Let’s find the Cup before Valentine.” He leaves the main room and heads toward the library. 

The five leave as Izzy and Gabrielle go to train. Jess and Clary make their way to the dock, their guards up just in case. The pair of girls enter the Jade Wolf. There are a handful of werewolves milling around in the restaurant.

“My dad here?” Jess asks one of them. “It’s important.” 

“He’s in the back,” a female says.

“Thanks,” she says, pushing open the door that leads into the back office. “Dad, we have a problem.” 

“What is it Jess?” Luke asks, not looking up from his work.

“We need to find Mom before Valentine finds the Mortal Cup,” Jess says. “Do you think you can find her?” 

“I would love to help, really, but we just figured out that rogue vampires are around. Worse part is, they’ve been around Magnus's club and that cafe you like to go to.”

“Your bond isn’t strong enough, is it?” Jess sighs. “I guess we’ll have to find her the old fashion way. Do you need any help with the vamps?” 

“Our bond is strong,” Luke growls. “I’ve tried tracking her, but the vamps get in the way.”

“We can take care of them. Then you can find Mom,” Jess says. 

“Alright, first, you both have to swe-” Luke stops as Clary’s cell phone goes off.

Clary pulls her cell out of her pocket and answers it. “Hello?” 

“He’s gone!” Comes Mari’s panicked voice.

“Who’s gone?” Clary asks her.

“Simon! H-he was taken!”

“By who?” Clary asks, panic in her voice. 

“I...I don’t know, the employees just said they saw him leave with an older woman who has dark hair, they co.....vampire...she was a vamp!”

“Where are you, Mari? We’ll come to you,” Clary says, heading outside, followed by Luke and Jess. 

“I’m at the cafe, I will call Alec and tell him what happened,” Mari says, trying to keep her voice calm, but failing.

“Alright. We’ll be there in a few minutes. Stay put and don’t talk to any strangers, okay?” 

“Right.” The two hang up.

“Clary, what’s wrong?” Luke demands.

“Simon’s been kidnapped by a vampire. Mari’s at the cafe. We need to get there/ She’s going to call Alec,” Clary says quickly, getting into Luke’s truck. 

“Is she his soulmate?” Luke asks, worry setting in. 

“I think so. I mean, she’s a hunter, but he’s not,” Clary says as Luke drives them to the cafe. “There’s no way to know for sure. But we have to find him before they kill him.” 

“If she starts to slow down and complain of pain, that’s the side effect of being bonded to your mate,” Luke explains. “It’s like parabatai, however it has more of an effect on the mate. With Jocelyn, she’s fine, no pain, nothing.” 

“I don’t think Valentine would hurt her,” Jess says. “Crazy as he is, he loves her.”

“Just look for the signs, if Simon dies, Mari will feel it.”

“Simon’s not going to die,” Jess says.

“I am just letting you know,” Luke says.

“We need to focus on finding Mom and the Cup,” Jess reminds them. “Can you track her or not?” 

“I can and I will.”

“Alright,” Jess says. “Let’s go.” 

Luke drops the girls off before going to the institute to track Jocelyn.

“Anything?” Jace asks him. “It’s kinda time sensitive.” 

“I am getting the area, but there must be something there to keep me from getting her exact location,” Luke says.

“Do you have a general area?” Alec asks. 

“Yes.”

“Okay. Jace, Izzy, let’s go. Luke, lead the way,” Alec says. 

The team heads out to find Jocelyn while Toni and Gabrielle go to help Jess, Clary and Marinette.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Jess says as they head out. 

“I hope so,” Mari says, worry still in her voice.

“Let’s just find him,” Clary says. 

“This way,” Toni says, heading to hotel Dumort. “This is the nest of the vampires.”

“Is this where he is?” Clary asks, looking at Mari. 

“Yes, he....something's very wrong..” Mari tells her.

“We can’t just go into a vampire nest,” Jess says. “No offense, but neither of you have the proper trainer.” 

“We don’t have much choice Jess,” Toni says. “The others are going after Jocelyn. This will be the best time to see what Mari can do.”

“Alright, fine. Let’s do this,” Jess says. “Let’s try to get in and out as quickly as we can.” 

“Clary, Elle, stay close to us,” Toni orders. “You aren’t skilled enough to handle vampires yet.”

“With any luck, we’ll get out of here without any of us or them die,” Jess says, then they head into the hotel. 

They head inside and quietly walk around to find Simon, as they get close, Mari topples over in pain. Elle helps her up and looks to her brother and Jess.

Jess has this weird feeling as she looks around. Like she’s supposed to be here. 

“Jess? Come on,” Toni quietly calls to her. “Simon may have been bitten.”

“Mari can lead the way,” Jess say, turning her attention back to the group. 

“This way.” Mari points to the penthouse.

They make their way slowly up the hotel, all equipped with silence ruins not to make any noise. When they get into the room, they find Simon on the couch unconscious. 

Jess walks over and shakes him gently to see if she can wake him up. He doesn’t react to her, this causes Mari runs to his side and tries to wake him.

“He was bitten and given blood,” Mari says.

Toni picks Simon up carefully. “Let’s get out of here ASAP.” 

They start to leave when someone walks in with three other vampires. 

Jess freezes when she sees one of the vampires. 

“So, shadowhunters are here for the mundane,” the first vampire says.

“Kidnapping and changing mundanes is against the Accords,” Toni says. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t arrest you.” 

“I wasn’t the one who took him,” he says. 

“Then who did?” Elle demands.

“Her name is Camille,” he says. “I discovered what she was doing and drove her out of this place.” 

“Why didn’t you stop her before she bit him!?” Mari hisses, pulling out her blade.

“I didn’t know he was here,” he says. “If she resurfaces, I will handle it. Now, you may want to bury your friend so he can change.” 

“Clary, which cemetary should we go to?” Toni asks, not noticing the look on Jess’s face.

“Simon’s Jewish,” Clary say, then looks over at her sister. “Are you okay? You haven’t said anything.” 

Jess doesn’t say anything as the head vampire turns to look at her.

“Hello there, beautiful,” he says.

“No…”

“I am Raphael Santiago, the head vampire,” he says. “You must be JG.”

“Jessica Graymark,” she says after a moment. 

“It is nice to meet you, Jessica.”

“Likewise,” Jess says. “We should probably get going, though.” 

“Of course, come back at anytime,” Raph says, winking at her.

The Shadowhunters head out of the hotel and to the nearest Jewish cemetery. They begin to dig a hole. Mari holds Simon close as the other dig, lightly singing an old English song.

They work quickly, so it doesn’t take very long for them to make a decent sized hole to put Simon in. Toni carefully picks up Simon and places him in the hole.

“Okay, let’s fill in the hole,” Jess says. “Then, stand back.” 

“Mari,” Elle says, pulling her back as Clary and Toni fill the hole. When they finish, they back away as well and wait to see what will happen. 

“Mari, you have to stay back,” Elle says after a few minutes, pulling her back again.

“I need to make sure he is okay,” Mari says, trying to fight against her.

“If you get too close, he could kill you,” Jess says. “New vampires can’t control themselves. They’re very thirsty and confused.” 

“And very protective, so when he is more conscious he will go after Mari,” Toni adds. “That is if they really are mates, which they are.”

“We have to very careful,” Jess says. “So many things could go wrong with this.” 

Toni picks up Mari and throws her over his shoulder, and pushes Elle back more.  They watch as Simon’s hand breaks through the ground. 

Elle soon tosses the blood bag she got filled with animal blood.

He attacks the bag, drinking it like an animal. The others can only watch as he drinks all of the blood.

“Simon?” Clary asks slowly. 

He looks at her, his eyes dark. Clary soon notices the initials on his arm appear gold.

They wait for his next move and brace themselves in case he attacks them. Simon growls and tackles Toni, taking Mari out of his grip. 

“Ekk!” Mari squeaks. 

“I was just trying to protect her, dude,” Toni says, not fighting against him. “We’re not exactly experienced in these situations.” 

“Simon?” Mari asks, hoping he is himself again.

“What’s going on?” Simon ask, looking confused and scared. 

“Well....” Mari stammers. “It’s kind of a long story.”

“Am I a…” he says, but then cuts off. 

Mari nods her head, knowing what he was going to say.

“How could you let his happen?” he asks angrily. 

“Camille took you before I could get back,” Mari says. “I was so worried when I found out.”

“You should have let me die,” he says, then runs off using his newfound vampire speed. 

“Simon!” Mari yells after him, tears in her eyes.

“Just give him time,” Jess says. “It’s not an easy adjustment. My dad says it takes a while to accept it and get back to your life.” 

“I am not letting go through this alone, I’m sure your mother was by Luke’s side,” Mari says, drawing a speed rune.

“Mari, he needs space. The only reason my dad didn’t run off was because of me,” Jess says. “Just give him a few days. He’ll be back.” 

“I made the mistake of leaving him, I am not leaving him again.”

“Even with the speed room, you’re nowhere near as fast as he is. And we have no idea where he went. Just give him some time. His whole life is changing.” 

“Jess,” Toni says, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Go Mari, we will explain everything to Alec. I know you’ll find him.”

“It’s a really bad idea,” Jess says. 

“I agree with Toni,” Clary says as Elle nods. “Simon needs someone, especially now.”

“No offense Mari, but you’re new to all of this. You have no idea what he needs. I’ll call my dad. He can find Simon and talk to him. He knows what Simon’s going through and is better equipped to deal with this than some girl he barely knows.” 

“And no offense Jess, but you know nothing about soulmates,” Mari glares. “They do not, will not, let their mates go through pain alone. I am not leaving Simon alone!”

“You don’t know anything about our world! You’re brand new. So don’t you go lecturing me about stuff that I’ve been learning about since I was five. New vampires are dangerous. You know nothing about Simon. How exactly are you going to help him? My father has known Simon since we were kids and has gone through a change. He’s better equipped to deal with this.” 

“I am from the London institute! My parents taught me everything since I could talk which was when I was two! I know more then you think, do not judge me on what I know. Yes, I do not know Simon, but I am not leaving my soulmate alone! My mother died protecting my father, she never left his side when he was bleeding to death. I will do the same for Simon. He won’t kill me, hurt me, maybe but fine. It’s my fault he was turned in the first place.”

“Actually, I’ll deal with this.” Raphael’s voice comes from behind them. 

“Were you spying on us?” Elle asks, confused and suspicious. 

“I came to check on things. Look, he needs another vampire to talk to and he’s going to need a home. I can provide those things.” 

“Why should we trust you?” Toni asks before Mari can.

“He’s not lying,” Jess says. 

“Right, he’s your soulmate,” Clary says. “Do whatever you can to help him. He thought all of this wasn’t real, so it is a huge shock to him.”

“I’ll make sure he comes back to you once he’s calmed down a bit,” Raphael says, then runs off to find Simon. 

“We better get back to the institute, they may have brought Jocelyn back by now,” Toni says.

They head back to the Institute to check on the other team of Shadowhunters.

“How’d it go?” Jess asks Jace. 

“We found Jocelyn, but she’s out cold,” Jace says. “How’d getting the mundane go?”

“He’s not a mundane anymore,” Jess says. 

“He was turned? Great, just what we need.”

“He should be fine, though,” Jess says. “We met the new head of the New York vampire clan and he’s going to take Simon under his arm.” 

Jace looks at her and notices the gold on her arm, he smirks at her.

“I am guessing the new head is your mate?” Jace asks.

“Shut up, Jace,” Jess says. “I’m going to go check on Mom.” 

“He is, you and Alec both have downworlders. Nice.” Jace smiles.

“I don’t have a downworlder,” Jess and Alec say at the same time.

“Vampire and Warlock, both downworlders,” Jace and Izzy point out. 

“Hey, my mark is still black,” Alec point out. “We don’t know who my mate is.” 

“Magnus told us, Alec,” Izzy tells her brother.

“It doesn’t matter,” Alec says. “Soulmarks are stupid anyways.” 

“Whatever you say, let’s check on Jocelyn,” Izzy says. “Toni, where are Elle and Mari?”

“They are upstairs in my sister’s room, Mari is upset with what happened,” Toni says before whispering. “Jess didn’t help either.”

Jess and Clary head to the infirmary to check on their mother and Luke. Jocelyn is surrounded by a green energy, laying on one of the beds. Luke is sitting on a chair beside her bed, looking exhausted. 

“Are you okay Luke?” Clary asks.

“I will be,” Luke says. “We had to fight off a handful of Circle members. I hate seeing her like this.” 

“But she’s alive at least,” Clary says, trying to be optimistic. 

“But we have no idea how to wake her up,” Luke says. 

“Maybe Magnus can help,” Clary suggests. “He is the high warlock right?”

“He might know what warlock made the potion that she took,” Jess says. “Then we can find them and find out how to reverse this. We’ll wake her up, Dad. I promise.” 

“Dot,” Clary whispers.

“No, Dot isn’t a very powerful warlock,” Jess says. “I’ll call Magnus and get him over here. And no, I’m not going to warn Alec.” 

“Luke, I have a question about when you changed,” Clary asks, turning to him.

“What do you want to know?” Luke asks her. 

“What did you do when you first changed?” she asks. “Did mom know right away?”

“Of course she did. We were connected,” Luke says. “I didn’t want to face her for a while. I didn’t want her to reject me.” 

“So, would anyone do that when facing their soulmate?”

“Probably not, but when you turn, you’re not thinking logically,” Luke says. 

Clary nods, hoping Simon is okay and that he will come back soon.


	6. Chapter 6

“Whoever made this potion is slightly more powerful than me,” Magnus says, looking over at Jocelyn. “That really limits who it can be.” 

“Can you help her or find who did it?” Clary asks

“Probably,” Magnus says. “I’ll need access to your computer network.”

“Yeah, of course,” Jess says and logs into one of the computer in the infirmary and pulling up the list of known warlocks. 

“Thank you, Magnus,” Clary says.

Magnus goes through the archive and pulls up the profiles of a few warlocks. They all watch him, waiting for him to talk.

“My friend Ragnor was living in Idris and teaching at the Shadowhunter Academy when Valentine and the Circle were there,” Magnus says. 

“Is he still there or somewhere else?” Alec questions.

“He lives in England now,” Magnus tells them. “His house is heavily glamoured, but I was living with him for a while.” 

“Will he help though?” Elle asks.

“He will,” Magnus says. “We’ve had a lot of adventures together. Especially in Peru. Those were some good times until I got banned.” 

“I guess we will have to wait until he can get here,” Toni says.

“I’ll call him, but we may have to go to him,” Magnus says, pulling out his cell phone. 

“I will go,” Mari says, walking into the room. Her eyes still a bit red. “It will be nice to be in London again, also I am familiar with him. Never met him, but I have heard things from my parents.”

“He used to be high warlock there,” Magnus says. “So did Tessa. She’s Jace’s great great great grandmother, actually.” 

“Really?” Jace asks.

“Yeah. Actually, back in the late 19th century I was friends with Jace, Clary, Alec, and Izzy’s ancestors. Jace reminds me a lot of Will, actually. Except he looked more like Alec.” 

“That is besides the point right now,” Alec says.

“That’s a story for another day.” 

“Marinette and Magnus, you two head to London while the rest of us stay here,” Alec says.

“Alright,” Magnus says, getting off the phone. “But maybe one of the girls should come as well.” 

“Jess, you go,” Elle and Izzy say.

“Alright,” Jess says. 

Soon, she, Magnus, and Marinette portaled into England near where Ragnor’s house is hidden. 

“London.” Mari smiles.

“He lives a little outside of the city,” Magnus says as they head out of the city. “Do exactly as I do.” 

The two nod in agreement.

Magnus leads them through the field and then stops. “It’s here. It’s just got very powerful glamours that only those with pure intentions can get through.” 

“I’ll try first,” Mari says, walking up.

“No, all at once,” Magnus says. “On the count of three. One….. Two….. Three.” He steps forward through the glamour and the house becomes visible. Its two stories and made of stone. The garden is in good shape. It looks like any other house in the country. 

“Beautiful,” Mari says.

“Hopefully we’ve found him in a good mood. And don’t believe the stories he tells you. I definitely did not get very drunk and flirt with a plate in Peru,” Magnus says before walking up to the door and knocking.

“I bet he has,” Mari whispers just so Jess hears.

Jess smiles and laughs quietly. “I love Izzy, but you would have made a great parabatai.” 

“Even after our huge argument?” 

“Simon is a like the brother I never had. I just wanted to make sure everything was being handled the best it could be given the circumstances,” Jess tells her. “I’m sure you’re great, but I don’t know you that well yet.” 

“It’s alright, I was panicking and I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“Neither was I,” Jess says. 

“It feels strange being back in England after the accident,” Mari says.

The door opens a little and a green warlock with horns sticks his head out of the crack. “Magnus, why have you come here? And why have you brought Shadowhunters?” 

“We need your help,” Magnus says.

“I don’t do that anymore,” he says and starts to close the door. 

“It’s to help Jocelyn,” Mari says.

“I helped her 20 years ago. Please go away before they find me,” Ragnor says. 

“No one will find you, we just need a way to reverse the potion you gave her,” Mari says.

“You need the Book of the White, but it is no longer in my possession,” Ragnor says. “I can give you something to lead you to it, but that’s about it.” 

“Alright, thank you my friend,” Magnus says.

He closes the door and goes upstairs to find the old bookmark that belongs in the book and allows the reader to read it. He returns back downstairs and gives it to Magnus. “I don’t know why you’re helping these shadowhunters, but good luck, my old friend.” 

“It is a long story, but I am sure I can tell you at some point,” Magnus says. “Thank you for your help.”

“Be careful out there. You know no downworlder is safe now with Valentine on the loose.” 

“I know, but we will handle him,” Magnus says. “I will see you again, once the Circle and Valentine are gone.”

“I hope so,” Ragnor says and closes the door. 

The three head back to the institute to tell the others what they learned.

“So, how do we find the book?” Clary asks, looking at the bookmark. 

“I will try to track it,” Magnus says. “But it will take a while.”

“Alright,” Jess says, heading towards the weapons area. “I’m heading out for my patrol. Keep me posted.” 

“Izzy, go with her,” Alec says. “From now on, we go out in pairs.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Jess asks him, sticking a seraph blade into her belt and making sure she has her stele. “If we run into trouble, it’s better if only one of us gets captured.” 

“With the circle out there and rogue vampires, you will need more than just yourself,” Alec says. “Also, Rapheal called, the former Mundane is doing better.”

“His name is Simon,” Clary says. 

“I’m not saying he shouldn’t go in pairs,” Jess says. “But if both Izzy and I get captured, no one can track me.” 

“I’ll head out with mi amiga,” Toni says. “It’s been awhile since we went on patrol together.”

“Alright,” Alec says. “If you spot any trouble, report it before you engage. Be careful. We can’t afford to lose people.” 

“Right,” Toni grabs his weapon and the two head out.

“Can we see Simon?” Mari asks.

“No, not yet. You can’t just go back into the Hotel. They’re not our friends,” Alec says. “Clary and Elle need more training. Any volunteers?” 

“I guess that will be me,” Jace says.

“Can you handle both of them or do you need Izzy?” Alec asks. 

“I’m going to train with dad,” Elle says. “He wants to teach me a few of his moves.”

“Alright,” Alec says. “I’ll go fill the clave in on what’s going on. We need to stay above the table or they’ll be here and try to take over.” 

They all agree and split off from one another. Elle heads to the library to find her father. Clary and Jace head to the training area and Alec heads to his office, leaving Izzy with Magnus. 

“Father?” Elle calls, walking in.

“Hello, Ellie. How can I help you?” he asks, not looking up from his book. 

“You really are a bookworm like Mom said.” She laughs. “You promised to train me, remember?”

“Right. Well, first things first. Before you learn to fight, you need to learn the practical skills. Have a seat,” Hodge says, closing the book. 

Elle walks over and sits near him. She’s never really had a chance to be around her father since she came here.

“A long time ago, Jonathan Shadowhunter became the first Shadowhunter. He was given the Mortal Instruments by the angel Raziel. Jonathan drank from the Mortal Cup and received angelic powers from it to help rid the world of the demon and protect the mundanes.” 

“So, all shadowhunters have a little bit of angel power in them?” Elle asks.

“We all have angel blood in our veins. That’s what makes us Shadowhunters. Vampirism and lycanthropy ar demon diseases. Faeries are a mix of angel and demon. Warlocks have a directly demonic parent. Vampires and warlocks are both sterile.” 

“Okay,” she nods, memorising the best she can.

“Vampires are dead, so their bodies no longer produce hormones or anything. Warlocks are similar to animal hybrids. Demons and humans have similar enough to make a baby, but the child’s DNA isn’t conducive to be able to reproduce,” Hodge explains.  “Shadowhunters cannot have warlocks, though. The only warlock with Shadowhunter blood is Tessa Gray. Her mother had the blood, but didn’t know. Tessa has powers unlike other warlocks.” 

“I see, so is it possible Jess has abilities she doesn’t know about because the timing she was conceived is mixed up?” Elle asks.

“I don’t know. It is possible. However, she wouldn’t be a werewolf. It’s not typically genetic. Shadowhunter blood is dominant.” 

“Okay.”

Hodge continues the history lesson and explaining the Shadow World to his daugher. Elle is captivated by everything, it is so interesting that all of it actually exists. When he begins to explain the runes, Hodge is surprised that Gabrielle knows more than anyone here would have thought.

“You have a natural talent for runes,” Hodge says. “Be careful when you practice drawing them. Even on paper, they can have a lot of power.” 

“I don’t know why I know them so well,” Elle admits. “It’s like I’ve seen them before.”

“You might have,” Hodge says. “But you just don’t remember seeing them. Your mother has runes.” 

“It’s like I learned all of this before, in a dream.”

“Maybe,” Hodge says. He shows her all the main runes and explains what they do to help. 

Elle listens to her father and looks at the book to remember them.

 

Meanwhile, Jess and Toni patrol the streets of New York, looking for any traces of the Circle or demons. They go to Toni’s mother’s flower shop to see it almost perfect besides the apartment part is a mess.

Jess looks at a vase of pink roses that were still in perfect condition. “She must have really had a green thumb.” 

“Dad said Mom loved to garden,” Toni says, picking up a broken picture frame. “It was a hobby she had.”

“They really loved each other, didn’t they?” Jess says distractedly. 

“Yea, Dad would usually go up to the greenhouse on her birthday and cry. He missed her so much, he did the same on my birthday for the night.”

“I can see that you and Izzy have the same type of love,” Jess says, tidying up the shop a little bit.

“I know, and I am happy we do.”

“I never thought it would happen like this,” she says. 

“What would happen?” Toni asks, putting albums into his bag before heading to the bedrooms.

“Finding my soulmate. I always fantasized about how it would happen. In a hotel of vampires on a mission wasn’t on this list,” she says, heading into Elle’s bedroom. 

“It’s not the best place, but at least you know who it is and he’s not mad at you like Simon is at Marinette,” Toni says. “Dang, she has a lot of trophies.”

“I know, but I’ll never be a mom now,” she says. 

“You could adopt, Mari will have to do the same if Simon ever forgives her.”

“I know, but I wanted my own kids, you know.” 

“I get that, I’m sure there can be a way,” Toni says when the floorboard chreak.

Jess turns around in a fraction of a second and pulls out her seraph blade to face the threat. 

Toni turns as well when they see a small puppy near the dresser.

“A dog?” Jess asks, putting her blade away. 

“Weird,” Toni says, slowly walking up to it.

“Can it see us? We’re glamoured,” Jess wonders aloud, watching Toni. “It could be a demon in disguise. Keep your guard up.”

Toni keeps a hand on his blade as he gets close to it, the puppy sniffs the air before sniffing the floor. The puppy growls in defense, smelling someone but seeing no one. 

“I don’t think it can see us,” Toni says.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Jess says, watching carefully. “We shouldn’t be here anyways.” 

Toni grabs a few more things and follows her out.

They continue on their patrol, keeping a sharp eye open for any trouble, but they don’t run into any. Instead, they make small talk. 


	7. Chapter 7

Toni and Jess head back to the institute. Elle and Alec head out as their replacements. Elle stays quiet, her mind is all over the place. How did she know all of those runes and weapons? Alec has never been much of a talker, so they patrol in silence.

Jess knocks on Izzy’s door, needing to talk to her parabatai and best friend now that things are calm for the moment. 

“Come in,” Izzy says.

Jess opens the door and walks in, then closes the door behind her. “Do you have a minute?” 

“Sure, is something wrong?” Izzy asks, looking towards her friend. 

“It’s just you and Toni have been together for  very long time. You met as kids. You’re like the perfect couple,” Jess says, subconsciously rubbing her arm over the now gold letters. 

“It’s still weird a bit, but I am happy,” Izzy smiles a little. “Is this about your mark?”

“Yeah. I want what you have, but it’s different, you know? Things are going to be more complicated than you and Tony or Jace and my sister.” 

“I get that, he’s a vampire and the new head as well. Maybe you should go talk to him.”

“Maybe,” she says. “Maybe I should wait until things calm down a little bit more. Once Simon is better and we find the cup and wake up my mom.” 

“Jess, who knows how long that will take,” Izzy says realistically. 

“I know, but there’s so much going on and I can’t afford to be distracted by anything,” she says, sitting down at Izzy’s desk chair. 

“We may need his help and I’m sure he will be more inclined to help if he is close to you. Also you deserve to have a bit of a distraction, don’t be like Alec,” Izzy tells her, knowing being compared to Alec in such a way is insulting.

“Alec is hiding because he’s in the closet and he doesn’t want people to judge him or take his leadership away. I don’t care about any of that stuff. But what kind of life I live with a vampire? We could only go places at night and I won’t be able to have children.” 

“I know, maybe you should rest. It’s been a long day, also keep an eye on Mari, I think she may go see Simon.”

“I know. I’ll make sure she takes me with her. They obviously can’t hurt me,” Jess says. “And they wouldn’t dare hurt my friend.” 

“So, you two are friends now?”

“I’m working on it. But you know what I mean,” Jess says. “I wish my mom was awake so I could talk to her and tell her what’s going on.” 

“I know. Marinette has been through a lot, Alec found her info. Her parents were murdered right in front of her by Circle members and she was left to fend for herself as another couple took over the London institute.”

“New leaders aren’t allowed to kick people out of institutes,” Jess says, frowning. 

“I said the same thing, Alec got pissed off.”

“Understandable. He should file a report to the Clave,” Jess says, yawning. “What shift are you on for patrols. Alec is out with Elle, showing her the ropes.” 

“Of course he is.” Izzy smiles. “Go and get some sleep.”

“Good idea,” Jess says and leaves her room. “Good night.” 

 

“Hey dad!” Toni calls.

“Yes, Toni?” Hodge calls back, 

“Well...I went to mom’s shop and I brought a few things,” Toni tells him, setting the bag on the table and it squirms a bit.

“Is that bag moving?” Hodge asks his son. 

Toni smiles and pulls the puppy out of the bag, on it’s tag has Maria’s name on it.

“A dog? Alec is literally going to kill you when he finds out,” Hodge says, looking at it. “He barely tolerates new people.” 

“I think Mom would want us to have her dog, plus Gabrielle will most likely take care of it.”

“You have to tell Alec,” Hodge says. “What else did you find there?” 

“A lot of books and photo albums,” Toni says, pulling them out.

“We can go through them in the morning. You need to get some sleep. It’s late.” 

“Okay, is Elle going to be back soon?” 

“Not for a few hours,” Hodge says. “Patrols are longer because we’re doing them in pairs.” 

“Okay, guess this one will be with me for the night.”

“Make sure it stays in your room,” Hodge says. “Everyone is edge. We don’t need someone stabbing the dog with a seraph blade.” 

“I will, night dad,” Toni says, leaving the library.

 

In the morning, everyone meets up in the kitchen, minus Jace and Clary, who are out patrolling. Elle is the one cooking breakfast, making what her mother did before everything happened. The puppy is at her side the time.

“Why is there a dog in my institute?” Alec asks. 

“I guess he followed me here,” Elle says, focusing on what she’s doing. “This is Carlos, he’s my pup.”

“There’s no animals allowed in here.” 

“I’m sorry Alec, but he won’t leave. He’s attached to me, he’s no ordinary pup.”

“Take him to a shelter and leave him there,” Alec says. “He’s not allowed to stay here.” 

“Why not?” Mari asks out of curiosity.

“Because animals aren’t allowed in institutes unless they have a purpose,” Alec says. “I don’t think your tiny, pathetic excuse of dog has one.” 

“It’s not a dog,” Elle says. “It’s a wolf.”

“Then it’s really not allowed here. Why did your mother have a pet wolf?” 

“Not sure, she came home with him one day and he’s been with us since then and that was last year.”

“A wolf pup followed you home and you just kept it? Do you know how dangerous that is?” 

“I do, but wolves bond for life so I can’t just leave him,” Elle says. “He’s already attached to Izzy and Jace.”

“He can’t live here. Find someplace else to keep him.” 

“Jess, do you think your dad can take him in?” Elle asks as Carlos goes to Alec.

“I don’t see why not. He’s a wolf. Carlos is a wolf. As long as he respects Luke’s authority,” Jess says. “He’s still with Mom if you want to go talk to him.” 

“I will after breakfast,” Elle says and looks at Carlos as he sniffs Alec.

“Shoo,” Alec tells him, eating a piece of bacon. 

“Arf!” Carlos barks, pulling on his pant leg.

“I said shoo,” he says. “Go away. Go bother someone else.” 

“He likes you,” Elle laughs, sitting down after serving the food.

“I don’t like him.” Alec drinks his coffee. “Who’s on the next patrol?” 

“Jess and Mari,” Izzy says.

“Alright,” Alec says. “Izzy, can you go check  on Magnus once you finish eating lunch? See if he has a lead on the book.” 

“Of course.”

“Okay. Everyone else can do whatever, but don’t get too busy. We may need you.” 

“Don’t worry Alec,” Jace says. “Toni and I are training with the girls today.”

“Okay, good idea. We’ll need all the help we can get in case all this ends with a big battle,” Alec says, finishing his breakfast 

Everyone soon finishes and gets ready for the day. Jess and Mari head out on patrol as Izzy goes to see Magnus.

“Hello, Isabelle,” Magnus says without looking up from what he’s doing. 

“Hi Magnus.” Izzy smiles. “Got anything?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” he says, setting the bookmark down on the table and sighing. 

“What’s wrong?” she asks, getting a bit worried.

“I know the current owner of the book,” Magnus says. “And it’s not someone that I’m on good terms with.” 

“Who is it?”

“Her name is Camille. She’s a vampire that I had a fling with 100 years ago.” 

“You mean the vampire that turned Simon?!”

“That would be the one,” Magnus says. “I think we can get in and out without tripping any of her alarms.” 

“Alright, I’ll call Alec to let him know.”

“Okay,” Magnus says. “Let me know the plan.” 

Izzy goes to call Alec, the faster they act the better.

“Jace, Toni, and I will be right there,” Alec tells his sister. He gathers the other two guys, plus Clary who insisted on coming along and headed over to Magnus’s apartment. 

“We will have to be quick with this,” Toni says. “If we are caught, Elle is ready to get the werewolves to help.”

“If we do this quick enough, we won’t have to worry about it,” Magnus says, getting what he needs to open a portal. 

“Are you sure you want to join Magnus?” Izzy asks.

“I’m better equipped to deal with Camille and any traps that might be in her apartment,” he says, then opens up a portal to her loft where the book is. 

The team goes in quietly, making sure to make no noise. They go into the library carefully, making sure not to set off any traps accidentally. Clary is the first to see the book, her and Izzy make their way over and watch for any traps there might be.

Magnus slowly pulls the book off the shelf, hoping that it doesn’t set off any alarms or traps. Nothing seems to happen.

“Let’s get out of here. This is too easy,” Alec says. 

They all nod and begin to head back to the portal. Toni suddenly stops, and stops the others. In front of them is a magical trap.

Magnus swears, then deactivates it. “We need to go, now.” 

They all hurry out as more traps seem to appear.

Magnus opens a portal so they can get back to the Institute, but when they step through, they are all sent to different places than they wanted. 

“Where are we?” Clary asks. However, she quickly notices that none of the others are there with her. “Hello!?”

“Are you lost, lassie?” a passing by man asks with a thick Scottish accent. 

“Can you tell me where I am?” Clary asks.

“Rough night?” he asks her. “You’re in Edinburgh.” 

“Oh, I forgot I’m sorry. I just arrived and I was confused a little.”

“Do you need directions?” he asks her. “It’s a big city.” 

“Wait...you can see me?” Clary finally asks, knowing she glamored. 

“Of course I can see you, lassie. I’ve been talking to you, haven’t I?” he asks, looking at her weirdly. 

“Um...can you take me to the nearest library or cafe?” Clary asks. 

“Of course. The Central Library is a few blocks away,” the man says, then leads her through the streets. “So, what’s an American girl such as yourself doing alone in Scotland?” 

“I was supposed to meet some friends, I’m sure once I can contact them they’ll get me.”

“Well, here we are,” he says, stopping in front of a building. “I hope you find your friends.”

“Thank you,” Clary says, heading inside. 

 

It takes several hours, but they all end up safely back in the Institute with the book. 

“Well, that wasn’t fun,” Alec says as they regroup. 

“I’m guessing Camille did that?” Clary asks, sitting down in the library.

“Whatever warlock that did the spells on her loft must not have had more powerful magic than me. I probably shouldn’t have been able to open a portal. So, instead it scattered us,” Magnus explains. 

“Being in Germany wasn’t too bad I guess,” Jace says.

“I am thankful dad forced me to learn Spanish,” Toni sighs. “It was very helpful.”

“Aren’t you all very lucky?” Alec says. “I ended up at some old lady’s house and was basically force fed Chinese noodles.” 

“At least you got fed normal food,” Toni says. “I had to eat guinea pig.”

“It’s actually not that bad,” Magnus says. “However, ending up in a country the you’re banned from is a very bad thing.” 

“I ended up in Canada, so getting back was so easy,” Izzy smiles. “Plus they take American money.”

“You know, I’ve always wanted to visit Canada,” Toni says. 

“Germany is on the top of my list,” Clary says. “Huh. That’s kinda weird.” 

“You guys had a interesting time, didn’t you,” Elle says, hanging upside down from one of the railings, reading.

“Why are you upside down?” Jace asks her, looking up. 

“It’s more fun to read this way.”

“Can you fix my mom?” Clary asks Magnus, looking at the book, which is sitting on the table. 

“I should be able to, but it will take time and a lot of energy,” Magnus says. “Where are Mari and Jess?”

“They’re still out since you guys have been gone for hours,” Elle says.

“Call them in. Who’s on the next shift?” Alec asks. “Jess should be here for this.” 

“Toni and I can take it,” Elle says, pulling out her cell to call Jess. 

 

About ten minutes later, Jess, Clary, Magnus, and Luke are in the operations area. Magnus opens the book and starts chanting the spell to undo the potion and does the hand motions. The green light around Jocelyn begins to fade as she starts to wake up. Luke puts his arms around her, to catch her and let her see him.

Jocelyn opens her eyes and blinks a few times. “Luke?” She puts her arms around him and hugs him. 

“Finally, we have you back,” Luke says.

“I could hear everything that was going on,” Jocelyn says. “What Valentine is planning…” 

“You can tell us later,” Hodge says, walking in. “We have a problem, Marinette is gone.”

“What?” Luke asks, setting Jocelyn down. “What do you mean, she’s gone?” 

“She left the institute suddenly, I am not sure why.”

“We need to find her. She couldn’t have gotten far,” Alec says. 

 

At Hotel Dumort, Simon is looking out as it becomes night. It has been a few days since what happened and he is still trying to get used to it.

“I think you should go talk to your friends,” Raphael says, walking up behind him. “I’m sure they’re worried about you right now.” 

“I do not know how to face....her yet,” Simon says, talking about Marinette. He blamed her for this and caused her so much pain.

“Baby steps, Simon,” Raphael says. 

“She must hate me. I blamed her for this.”

“I find that people that care about you are pretty forgiving bout that sort of stuff,” he says. “Take all the time you need, but remember, time is a precious thing when it comes to mortals.” 


	8. Chapter 8

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about who you are,” Jocelyn tells Clary as the two settle into the library to talk. 

“I get why you didn’t,” Clary says. “But you should have told me, I could have gone through my life without knowing about my soulmate and brother.”

“I was going to tell you everything on your birthday. It was better that you didn’t know anything. It kept you safe,” Jocelyn says. “But I guess that doesn’t matter anymore. And I never told you about Jonathan because it was complicated.” 

“I know, Hodge told us,” Clary tells her. “But...he might be alive.”

“I know. Valentine told me what he did while I was in that coma. I guess he didn’t think I’d know what he was saying,” Jocelyn says. “But Clary, your brother, he’s barely human because of what your father did to him.” 

“He could be, he’s Gabrielle’s soulmate.”

“He wasn’t normal,” Jocelyn says. “His eyes are pure black. He never cried as a baby. Never smiled. He scared me. Something about him was just wrong.” 

“We don’t know how he can change being around her,” Clary says.

“Your father raised him. He is not going to be the type of person someone wants to be soulmates with. You father probably drilled it into his head that soulmates are the Clave’s way of controlling us. That’s what he fed to the Circle.” 

“You never know, Valentine doesn’t know about how people act and feel when they are connect to their mates,” Clary says.

“Don’t get your hopes up about it, Clary,” Jocelyn says. 

“I know,” Clary sighs. “A lot has happened. First you and Elle’s mom are taken, Mari arrives, Simon is changed and....it’s so much to handle.”

“Wait, slow down? What happened with Simon? And you haven’t found Maria yet?” Jocelyn asks, confused. 

“Simon was bitten by a vampire named Camille and is now one of them,” Clary explains. “And no, we haven’t found Maria.”

“You brought Simon into all of this? What were you thinking, Clary?” Jocelyn asks. 

“He didn’t know about any of this, Camille probably targeted him because of Marinette.”

“This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you about any of this. You ruined your best friend’s life,” Jocelyn says.

“I said that he didn’t know about any of this! I never told him, no one did. We don’t know why he was targeted.”

“Vampires have better things to do than go after random mundanes and break the Accords. He must have known something or seen something.” 

“The only person he may have seen runes on is Marinette, his soulmate,” Clary says, trying to make it clear that it was not her fault.

“I guess it doesn’t matter now,” Jocelyn says. “But if haven’t found Maria yet, she’s dead.” 

“What? Do you know where she could be?” Clary asks.

“No, but I know your father. He’s a vengeful person. You took me back from him, so he killed her,” Jocelyn says.

“I hope not, I really do,” Clary says. “Toni and Elle deserve to have their family together.”

“Starkweather? You cannot trust their father. He’s working for Valentine, trying to get his freedom.” 

“What?”

“You heard me,” Jocelyn says. “Where are he and the head of the institute?” 

“Alec is probably in the main room while Hodge is in the library,” Clary says.

“Wait, Alec Lightwood is in charge of this place?” Jocelyn asks. “He’s only twenty. That’s impressive.” 

“He’s in charge when his parents aren’t around.”

Jocelyn stands up and heads into the main room to look for Alec. She learned a lot of important things while she was out and she’s slowly remembering all of it. Trouble is coming if they don’t stop Valentine soon. 

“Hello Mrs. Fairchild,” Alec says, looking at the screens to find Mari. “Is something wrong?”

“Hodge Starkweather. You need to arrest him. He’s feeding intel to Valentine in exchange for him freedom,” Jocelyn says. 

“What sort of intel?” Alec asks, slowly contacting the Clave so they can hear this.

“Everything that you and your friends are up to. That’s why you haven’t been able to catch him. Because he knows your plans. He’s learning your team’s strengths and weaknesses. He probably knows more about you all than you know about each other,” Jocelyn says. 

“Alright, get Hodge Starkweather and take him to the Clave,” Alec orders some of the men.

“Yes, sir,” someone says and some of the Shadowhunters head to the library to take Hodge to the Clave. 

“Someone will have to explain this to Toni and Elle,” Alec sighs. “Clary, we will have to do it once they get back.”

“This is going to be hard. Izzy should be there when we tell them,” Jess says. 

 

“First you murder my parents and then kidnap my friends’ mothers,” Mari hisses, holding the circle member. “Where is Maria Starkweather?”

“Like I’d tell you, little girl,” he retorts. 

“You will or I will make the last few moments of your life utter hell.”

“Do you think you scare me? Valentine will do something a million times worse than killing me if I talk.” 

“Well, then it is a good thing I’m here to help her,” Raphael says, walking up.

“Oh, you have a pet vampire now too,” he says. “He’s probably trying to get on your half breed friend’s good side so he can nail her.” 

“He’s my friend,” Mari says, pushing her blade into his shoulder more. “Now, before I feed you to vampires, you are going to tell me where Maria is.”

“Bite me.” 

“Raph? Some help please?” Mari asks, cutting the man’s shoulder more.

“With pleasure,” Raphael says, then walks closer to the Circle member, fangs out. 

Mari removes her blade, making the wound a bit bigger.

“I’m not telling you jack,” he says, trying to not show any weakness to her. 

“Okay, so how much blood do you wanna lose before I slice you open like you did to my father?”

“You may want to answer your phone,” he tells her. 

“Excuse me?” Her phone starts ringing in her pocket again. She looks at her pocket before handing him over to Raph so he cannot leave. “Hello?”

“Where are you?” Izzy asks her. “We need you.” 

“I’m busy, I have a circle member here and trying to get info out of him,” Mari answers.

“We woke up Jocelyn. She has a lot of information,” Izzy tells her. 

“I doubt she knows where Maria is, also this man is responsible for my parents’ death. I’ll be back soon.”

“Maria is dead.” 

Mari looks at the man, her blade pushing a bit on his neck. “Is it true?”

“Valentine had so much fun killing her,” he says. 

“Then I’m going to have fun killing you,” Mari says, her phone now on speaker. “I will do so much worse to you then Valentine co-”

“No, let me,” Elle says, walking up.

“Mari, Jocelyn knows where Jonathan is,” Izzy says. “You both know that killing is against the Acords.” 

“He murdered my family,” Mari says. “How about I ruff him up some more than the Clave can have him.”

“No. You need to turn him over now before you get into any trouble. Alec can cover up what you’ve done so far, but only if you get back here.”

“Fine.” Mari takes him back to the institute, she thanks Raph for the help and asks him to tell Simon she is sorry for what happened.

“I’ll tell him. Good luck,” he says, then heads back to the hotel. 

“So where is Jonathan?” Elle asks, now calm after dragging the Circle member.

“He’s staying in a cabin in Idris,” Jocelyn says. “You’re Maria’s daughter? There are some things that I should tell you first.” 

“My dad was still working for Valentine?” Elle asks.

“No, I mean about my son,” she says. 

“What?”

“Jonathan. He’s… different,” Jocelyn says. 

“I know, he has demon blood,” Elle says.

“He’s more demon than he is human,” Jocelyn says. “By the time I found out what Valentine was doing, it was too late.” 

“I can handle it.”

“I don’t think he’s the type of thing anyone could handle,” Jocelyn says. 

“We will see,” Elle says.

“You seem like a nice girl. I’m sorry that this is happening to you.” 

“It’s alright, you seem to have had the worse out of all of us.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Jocelyn says. 

“My mom...she’s really gone?”

“I’m so sorry, Gabrielle,” Jocelyn says. “I wish I could have done something to help her.” 

“It’s okay, I know Mom would have wanted me to not be upset,” Elle says.

“Your mom and I were good friends when we were younger. If you ever need anyone to talk to or a roof to stay under, you can come to me, okay?” Jocelyn says gently. 

“Thank you. Now, I’m going to find Jonathan,” Elle says, walking off.

Jocelyn sighs once Elle is out of earshot. “This isn’t going to end well.” 

“I’ll follow her,” Toni says. “I’m not losing anymore family today.”

“Stay with her. Jonathan is not the type of person anyone wants to be with like that. Your sister is misfortunate.” 

Toni follows his sister as she leave for Idris. They portal into Idris and end up near the lake. 

“Wow, this place is amazing,” Elle says.

“Wait til you see Alicante some day,” Toni says as they walk through the woods. “It’s so amazing.” 

“Toni, did you know about Dad? Like that he was still...ya know...a Circle member?”

“If I did I would have turned him in myself,” Toni says.

“True, I knew something didn’t feel right when I was with him. And those dreams...”

“What dreams?” Toni asks, concerned. 

“I dreamt about Simon turning, Dad being arrested and....meeting Jonathan,” Elle tells him. “He didn’t seem that bad, but I’m not sure.”

“Why are you doing this?” Toni asks her. 

“Doing what?” Elle asks, just keeping her eyes on where she’s going.

“Trying to find him,” Toni says, keeping up pace with her. “You heard Jocelyn.” 

“I know, but I have a feeling he isn’t like how she says.”

“He’s been raised by the most evil Shadowhunter is history,” Toni reminds her. “The combination of those two things aren’t exactly good. Don’t get your hopes up too much about some magically fix.” 

“I know, but there are things you do not know about me brother,” Elle says.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” Toni says as they reach the edge of a clearing. 

“I know you don’t, I’ll be fine.” Elle smiles.

Toni doesn’t say anything further as they cross the clearing and then head back into the woods, where the cabin becomes visible. 

“Wait...I recognize this place,” Elle says. “It’s just like the cabin Mom took me to.”

“There’s a handful of cabins in Idris,” Toni says. “Most families have houses in Idris, but some of them also have cabins out here to get away from the city for a few days.” 

“So, Mom brought me here and I never knew it was a totally different world,” Elle smiles at the memory.

“She wanted to protect you,” Toni says, stopping in front of the cabin. 

Elle heads up to the door, both nervous and happy. She knocks on the door, hoping nothing bad will happen.

The door slowly opens a couple minutes later and a guy is standing in the doorway. “May I help you?” 

“A-are you Jonathan Morgenstern?” Elle asks, trying to stay calm.

“Maybe. Who wants to know?” he asks her, his black eyes studying him. 

“I’m Gabrielle Starkweather,” she tells him, looking at him with her chocolate brown eyes.

“Hodge’s daughter. You here to join the cause?” he asks her. 

“You mean the Circle?”

“That name’s boring, but if you need to call it something, then yes,” he says. “We could use some more young blood.” 

“I-I’m sorry, I just came to find you,” she says, looking at her now golden initials.

“Why?” he asks her. 

She shows him her arm, the JM on it now glowing gold.

“My father sent you to test me, didn’t he?” Jonathan asks. “Nice try.” 

“I’ve never met your father,” Elle says.

“Go away,” Jonathan says. 

“Jonathan, you knew I would find you right? You saw it in your dreams?”

“I don’t know who you are,” he says. “Or who you think you are. But I don’t have a soulmate.” 

“Yes, you do. I am right here, I am not lying to you. Why would I?”

Jonathan rolls up his right sleeve and shows her his arm. It’s got some old scars on it, but other than that, it’s blank. “Nothing. See?” 

She lightly touches his arm, she can feel it but why can’t they see it? 

“Please go away,” he says. 

“I don’t understand, father said this was impossible. I have your name and you reacted to my touch.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. I’ve never had a mark,” he says. “Go back to New York. Give my regards to my darling mother and sister.” 

“No, I’ll join you,” Elle says.

“No. Go home,” Jonathan says and slams the door shut. He heads over to his bed and sits down, his arm tingling. He hears the two leave, her voice still in his head. How sweet and caring she sounds. He lays back in bed and waits for his father to return. 


	9. Chapter 9

“Come on, let’s go home,” Toni says after Jonathan slams the door closed. 

“C-could there be....no...it can’t,” Elle mumbles.

“Ellie, come on. Let’s go home,” Toni says, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

“No.” She shrugs his arm off. “I can’t...Something is wrong. I’m not leaving Idris, not yet.”

“We have to go home. Our friends need us right now and Jonathan obviously doesn’t want us here.” 

“There was to be a reason, there is no way I have his initials and he doesn’t have mine,” Elle says. “I need to figure this out.”

“And you’re going to do that in the middle of the woods in Idris? Jocelyn might know something,” 

“I need time alone Toni,” Elle says, walking past him.

“Not gonna happen,” Toni says, following her. “Sulking in the woods accomplishes nothing. At least if we go back we can get some information about all this and figure out a plan.” 

“Fine.”

“Thank you,” Toni says, heading back to where they started, keeping an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t try to ditch him.

Suddenly Elle stops, her head pounding.

“Are you okay?” he asks her, concerned. 

“My head...it feels like it’s going to split open,” she hisses.

“We’re almost back. Just a little bit further, okay?” 

Elle nods and does her best to keep up the pace.

They get back to New York a few minutes later and Toni takes her to the infirmary, then goes to fill the others in on what happened. 

“Mom, didn’t he have soulmark?” Clary asks. “You seem to know he did.”

“He did, but I can’t remember what the letters were,” Jocelyn says. “It was 19 years ago last time I saw him.” 

“But there weren’t even there,” Toni says.

“Maybe it disappeared,” Jocelyn says. 

“Is that even possible?” Izzy asks.

“I don’t know. But there’s no one like Jonathan,” Jocelyn says. “I don’t know what is and isn’t possible.” 

“He still has shadowhunter blood,” Magnus says. “The mark can’t just disappear.”

“Well, it’s gone,” Toni says. “It’s all blank.” 

“Could someone have....removed it?” Izzy asks. “I mean, Valentine is one messed up guy, maybe he did something to get rid of it.”

“I don’t think that’s possible either,” Alec says. 

“Unless he burned it,” Jace says. “I mean, burn marks cover pretty much anything right?”

“Or acid,” Luke says. “If you mess up any rune enough it deactivates it.” 

“I bet he did that then,” Clary says. “Valentine was probably upset that his son has a soulmark and he doesn’t.”

“Maybe. Who knows,” Jace says. “We can figure it out later. We need to get the cup and then Valentine.” 

“Mom, where is the cup?” Clary and Jess ask.

“In the shop hidden in a Tarot card,” Jocelyn says. “I had to make sure it was somewhere he literally couldn’t get at.” 

“Okay, we can get it tomorrow,” Luke says. “We should have someone look over Gabrielle.”

“I already have one of the medics on it,” Alec says. “They’ll call the silent brothers if it’s too bad.” 

“Alright, everyone get some rest,” Luke says.

“Good idea,” Clary says. “Let’s go home.” 

Everyone leaves and heads off to rest.

 

In the morning, they regroup to catch up on everything that happened during the night and to plan what they should do next. 

“She’s still out?” Izzy says. “What happened to her?”

“The Silent Brothers are with her now,” Alec says. “They’re trying to figure out what’s going on.” 

“This is just what I need,” Toni sighs. “Who knows what happened to her before she came here.”

“We can’t be worried about her right now. We need to retrieve the cup and hand it over to the Clave,” Alec says. “Just let them do their jobs.” 

“We will go and get it,” Clary says.

“Alright. Take Jace and Izzy with you,” Alec says. “And be careful. I have a few things to take care of, so I probably won’t be here when you get back.” 

“Who’s on patrol?” Toni asks. “I’m not going out when my sister is out.”

“The clave took over the patrols for now,” Alec tells them. “They wanted more experienced Shadowhunters.” 

“Okay,” Toni says, going to the infirmary.

Alec leaves the Institute and gets on the subway. He heads downtown, then goes over to Brooklyn. He walks up to the door and knocks quickly before he can change his mind about what he’s doing. 

“Hello Alexander,” Magnus says, opening the door.

“Hi,” Alec says. 

“What brings you here?” Magnus questions, letting him inside.

“I just wanted to talk about some stuff.” Alec steps inside and closes the door behind him. “Officially, I’m not here.” 

“What is it you wanted to talk about?” Magnus grabs his glass.

“It’s nine in the morning. Why are you drinking?” Alec asks. 

“It is five o’clock somewhere,” Magnus responds.

“Okay….” Alec says. “I wanted to thank you for all of your help lately. We wouldn’t have gotten all that information.” 

“You’re welcome, Alexander.”

“So… um…,” Alec stutters. 

“Yes?” Magnus asks, sitting on the couch.

“I wanted to talk to you about stuff,” Alec tells him, shifting awkwardly on his feet. 

“And what stuff is it you want to talk about?”

“You know… stuff…” 

“Stuff?”

“Maybe I should just go…” Alec says, moving slowly back towards the door. 

“Is this about your mark? And how it is supposed to be gold?” Magnus asks.

“Yeah. Actually, it’s gold again for some reason,” he says. “Guess that magic must have worn off or something.” 

“Maybe it has, or we have been around each other too much,” Magnus says, not looking at Alec.

“Maybe.” 

“Is that it?”

“You like to… maybe… sometime.. do something?” Alec asks, staring at his feet. 

“Like what? Like a date?”

“Maybe. If that’s what you want to call it,” Alec says. 

“Alright, come back tomorrow night and we will go out for dinner.”

“Okay.” Alec leaves Magnus’s apartment and then goes for a walk, not wanting to go back home yet. 

 

“So....where are you dragging me?” Mari asks Jess.

“You’ll see,” Jess says, pulling her friend into the subway, unseen by the mundanes. 

“Metro? We must be going pretty far.”

“No, just a few blocks,” Jess says. “I just don’t feel like walking right now. And we call it a subway here in America.” 

“Subway, sounds strange when I say it,” Mari says.

“This is our stop,” Jess says a few minutes later and they get off the subway and climb the stairs back up to the street. She leads her friend down the street and stops outside the Hotel DuMort. 

“W-why are we here?” Mari asks.

“To see our men,” she says.

“B-but Simon hates me!” Mari says as Jess drags her.

“No, he doesn’t. He feels bad about what happened,” Jess says, heading up the stairs. 

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve known Simon since I was five,” Jess says. “He lacks the ability to hate anyone.” 

“If you are sure. Won’t we get in trouble for being here?” Mari asks as they make their way up to the penthouse.

“Hey!” someone yells, as if on cue. “Shadowhunters aren’t allowed in here! We haven’t done anything wrong!”

Jess and Mari roll up their sleeves to show their marks. 

“My apologies,” he says, looking at Jess. “Please don’t report me to him.” 

“Just tell us where they are,” Jess says. 

“They are in the penthouse ma’am,” he says.

“Thank you.” Jess continues up the stairs until they get to the top of the hotel. She knocks on the door to the penthouse suite and waits for one of the boys to answer. 

“Hello there, beautiful,” Raph says, opening the door.

“Hi. Sorry to wake you up, but I figured it would be safer to visit in the day. Is Simon here as well?” 

“Simon is still asleep,” Raph says. “Come in.”

“Thanks.” Jess steps into the room and looks around. Despite the age of the hotel, the space is in amazing shape, like someone has been taking good care of it for a while. 

“Where is Simon’s room?” Mari asks, walking in as well.

“Technically on the second floor, but he’s been staying in my guest room, through there.” Raphael points at a door. “He’s still adjusting.” 

“Okay,” Mari says, going to the guest room.

“Have fun,” Jess calls after her friend. 

“So what brings you two here?” Raphael asks, grabbing his glass and pours blood into it.

“I thought it was kinda obvious,” Jess says, sitting on his couch. 

“I am glad you decided to come here, you seemed shocked when you found out.”

“Well, I was, but I’ve had some time to just sit with it and I’ve made peace with the sort of life I’ll be living now,” she says. 

“Are you disappointed?” 

“I was. I always saw myself with a couple of kids, but obviously that won’t happen,” she says. “But I just need to get used to this life.” 

“I will do my best to make you happy, I promise,” Raph says, going over to her.

“I’m sure you will,” she says. “Although, I’m not sure if you meeting me when you’re still so young is a good thing or a bad thing.” 

“Hilarious.” He smirks.

“What? I just hate the idea of you living out your life having already been with and lost the one person that you’re destined to be with.” 

“I understand, we will worry about that later.”

“I don’t plan on dying anytime soon,” she says. 

“I know, love.”

“So, tell me about yourself,” Jess says, not bothered by the fact that he’s drinking blood out of a cup. 

 

“Young padawan, it is time for your training,” Mari says to Simon.

“You’ve seen Star Wars?” Simon asks. 

“Who hasn’t?” Mari smiles.

“You’d be surprised,” Simon says, smiling. 

“I love all of the movies....well...that's not quite true,” Mari says, moving so he can get up.

“Well, no one likes Jar Jar,” Simon says. 

“So...how are you doing?”

“I’m okay, considering,” Simon says. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. This has just been a big adjustment.” 

“I should have gotten to you sooner, I’m sorry.”

“I shouldn’t have been snooping around,” Simon says. 

“Wait, you were snooping?” Mari asks, confused.

“I went to a downworlder bar,” he says. “I just wanted some answers.” 

“Simon! That was so reckless!” Mari screams, slapping his head.

“I’m sorry. I was worried about Clary,” Simon says. 

“Of course, because you love her. To think I blamed myself!” Marinette says, walking out of the room.

“Mari, I’m sorry!” Simon calls after her. 

“I bet you will still go after her, even though she isn’t your mate!” Mari growls, heading out of the penthouse.

“I won’t! I don’t love her that way! She’s my best friend,” Simon says, following her down the stairs. 

Mari huffs and jumps down over the railing.

“Mari!” He keeps following her. “I’m sorry. But you never would have been with me if I was a mundane anyway!”

“Excuse me!?” Mari yells whips around.

“You know what I mean. The Clave doesn’t allow Shadowhunters and mundanes to be together.” 

“Do you think I care about that!? I was flirting with you and you were so blind to it!”

“Leave her alone, dude. Trust me,” a sleep looking vampire says, appearing. 

“No,” Simon says and continues to follow her down the stairs, forgetting that he has super speed. 

“Use your speed dude!” another vampire calls.

“I don’t have any drugs!” 

“Not what I meant idiot!”

“What? Oh, right!” Simon says and tries to use his super speed, but he doesn’t turn quickly enough at the landing and falls down to the first floor of the hotel. 

The two vampires laugh at him as Mari stops to look at him as he lays on the floor face first.

“I’m sorry, Mari!” Simon says, struggling to his feet. “However, I am surprised that that didn’t hurt.” 

“You’re a vampire, you don’t feel pain as easily anymore,” Mari says.

“Please don’t leave,” he says. 

“Why?” she asks.

“Because,” he says. “I told you, I’m not in love with Clary anymore. She’s got Captain America anyways.” 

“I think Jace is more Stark than he is Steve.” Mari laughs.

“Not the point,” Simon says. 

“I know, but first,” Mari punches him as hard as she can. “That’s for making more worry!”

“Ow,” he says, but not really meaning it. “Does that mean you accept my apology?” 

“No, this means I forgive you,” Mari says, kissing him.

 

“We didn’t really get a chance to talk last night,” Jocelyn says, sitting in the Institute's kitchen with Luke, sipping tea. 

“I know. It’s been a long few days,” Luke says. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” she says and smiles at him. “Is this the part where you give a lecture about being irresponsible and I could have died and I should have just told Clary the truth.”

“You did what you thought was right, Jocelyn. I can’t get mad at you for that. I guess it doesn’t matter anyways because who knows how long it would have taken to find all this stuff out without you,” Luke says and carefully moves a piece of her red hair out of her face.

“We’ve wasted so much time, Luke. So many years that the four of us could have been a proper family. Maybe even added another one or two to our family.” She sips her coffee. 

“It’s not too late. Once this is all calmed down and they catch Valentine and the rest of the Circle, then we can have that life,” Luke says, taking her hands. “I promise.”

“I love you, you know that, right? Always have, always will.”

“I know. And I love you too.” 


	10. The Truth

‘It seems the stress and the sudden pain from the contact with her mate caused this,’ The silent brother says. ‘We are not sure if or when she will wake up.’

“Can’t you do anything?” Toni asks him. 

‘I am sorry, we did our best.’

“Thank you, Brothers,” Toni says. 

‘You’re welcome, young Starkweather,’ he says as they leave.

Toni sighs and sits down at his sister’s bedside. “I’m gonna fix you, okay?” 

“I’m sorry this happened, Toni,” Izzy says. “I’ll help you in anyway I can.”

“Thank you, Iz,” Toni says. “I just hate seeing her like this.” 

“I know, there has to be something we can do to help her.”

“Not according to the Silent Brothers,” Toni says, looking up at his soulmate. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine, but your not. We should go out, we haven’t been out in a while.”

“I don’t think I should leave my sister alone,” Toni says. 

“I’m sure one of the others can watch her. Maybe Clary and Jace or even Max.”

“I guess that’s alright,” Toni says. “She’s not gonna wake up anytime soon anyways.” 

Everyone meets in the main room as Clary brings the tarot card.

“How do we get it out?” Jace asks, looking at the card. “It looks like a painting.” 

“Mom told me how,” Clary says, grabbing the cup out of the card.

“How did you do that?” Jace asks. 

“I’m honestly not sure. Maybe just like Jonathan, dad did something to me.”

“Angel blood,” Jocelyn says. “He did the same thing to Jace.” 

“Anyone else?” Robert Lightwood asks, walking in.

“Alec,” Jocelyn tells him. “With warlock blood.” 

“Warlock? Anyone else?” Robert says, trying to stay composed. 

“No,” Jocelyn says. “He wanted to do more, but no one else was close enough to him in order for him to dose them.” 

“We will have to keep an eye on our younger members,” Robert says.

“They’ll be fine,” Jocelyn says. “Just some enhanced abilities” 

“We cannot risk it, we will be moving Ms. Starkweather to Idris.”

“Why? She didn’t have anything done to her,” Jocelyn says. 

“She could be targeted, she is in a coma,” Robert says.

“The institute is safe,”  Jace says. “Who would target her?”

“Maybe Valentine, everyone knows about her soulmate. She will be a target no matter what.”

“My son has nothing to do with this,” Jocelyn says. “And he can’t do anything to her now. The blood thing only affects unborn babies.” 

“Are you so sure nothing happened to her or Toni?” Maryse asks, walking in. “The Silent brothers just finished interrogating Hodge. He did something to Maria when she was pregnant.”

Jocelyn shook her head. “She wasn’t part of the plan.” 

“Well, Hodge took matters into his own hands then. We need to take blood samples to see what was put in them.”

“It’s not gonna do any good,” Jocelyn says.

“That’s what we are going to figure out,” Robert says.

“It can’t be angel or demon blood. They’re too hard to get your hands on,” Jocelyn says. “Valentine had a angel hostage and used a warlock to summon a demon to get the blood.” 

“Then that leaves only a few others. We will be taking Ms. Starkweather,” Marysis says. “The Clave ordered it.”

“Fine, but Alec should hear about this,” Jace says. 

“Then let him know, now we will be leaving with the girl and the cup.”

Jace grabs his phone and calls Alec. 

“They did what?” Alec asks. He and Magnus are out at a fancy restaurant when Alec’s phone rings.

“They took Elle to Idris,” 

“Great, and the cup?”

“Back where it belongs and extra wardings to make sure Valentine won’t get his hands on it.” 

“Good, I’ll be back soon.”

“No rush. It’s not like you can do anything here,” Jace says. “I’ll see you later.” 

“Keep Toni from doing anything stupid,” Alec says before hanging up.

Jace goes to look for something to do. He wanders around until he goes into the music room. He goes to the piano and starts to play while he thinks about things and tries to clear his head. 

Clary stands in the doorway, listening to Jace play. “You are amazing, Jace,” Clary says, walking in.

“Thanks. Valentine taught me, actually,” Jace says, stopping. 

“Oh.”

“I find it helps to clear my mind.” He stands up and walks over to her.

“So much has happened, good thing Izzy took Toni out to have some fun.” Clary smiles.

“Oh yeah, they have all kinds of fun,” Jace says, brushing a strand of Clary’s hair behind her ear. “I can hear it.” 

Clary smiles a little, not sure what to say.

“But, they’re happy. That’s all that matters, right?” Jace says. 

“Yes, it is. Are you happy?” Clary asks him, taking his hand.

“I am now,” he says, leading her over to the piano bench and sitting down. He pulls her down next to her. 

“I am glad you are happy.”

“Want to learn how to play?” he asks her. 

“Sure.” Clary smiles. 

Jace gently places her hands in the standard position on the keys. He places his hands over hers and gently presses down on the correct fingers and tells her what the various notes are. Clary smiles as Jace helps her learn to play.

“Think you got it?” Jace asks and pulls his hands away from her. 

“Yea,” Clary says, playing the piano herself.

“You’re a natural,” Jace says. “Art and music. Good combination.” 

“Thank you.”

“Everything is going to be okay. You know that, right?” Jace says. “You’ve got your mom back and the Cup is back with the Clave.” 

“And my best guy friend is a vampire and my new best friend is in a coma,” Clary sighs, stop playing the piano.

“Simon will come around. You’ll get him back. And Elle is in the Clave’s hands. If anyone can wake her up, it’s them.” 

“I guess you are right, I’m sure Simon will be happy when he finds out that Mari is as much of a nerd as he is.” Clary smiles.

Jace smiles back at her and then leans in. He cups her face with his hand and gently kisses her. He slowly pulls away after a few moments. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while.” 

“It’s about time you did.” Clary smiles.

“Well, I was trying to be a gentleman. I wanted to take you out on a proper date. But I couldn’t wait any longer, I’m afraid.” 

“The great Jace is afraid?” Clary asks. “What are you afraid of?”

“Not being a proper gentleman,” Jace says. 

“You are the proper gentleman, Jace.”

“Thank you.” 

 

“Who knew you would be a nerd as well,” Raphael says. 

“My father loved all of the nerd stuff that mundanes came up with.” Mari laughs.

“Well, your father has good taste. I’ve tried to keep with pop culture over my seventy years as a vampire,” Raphael says. 

“Mine,” Simon says, holding Mari close.

“I’m glad things worked out with you two,” Jess tells them. 

“Thanks Jess.” Mari smiles. “Also thank you for dragging me here.”

“Well, with everything that’s been going on, the world could use a little more happiness in it,” Jess says, moving closer to Raph. 

They all smile when Mari and Jess’s phones beep with a message. Clary messages them about meeting up for a big get together at a restaurant. 

“You boys want to come with us to dinner?” Jess asks the pair of vampires. “Come hang out with our crazy family?” 

“I will, as long as Mari will tell me more about what she seen,” Simon says, his head resting on Mari’s shoulder.

“How much time do you have?” Mari asks him jokingly. 

“All day if I am with you,” Simon says.

 

Soon everyone gathers at the downworlder restaurant for dinner. They push together a bunch of tables. They talk and get to know each other better. They all have a lot of fun.

“... so then Jace runs out of his room, almost completely naked, holding a desk lamp as a weapon,” Izzy says, finishing her favorite story. 

Everyone is laughing as Jace pouts.

“You had to tell them that?” Jace asks.

“Come on, even I think that’s funny,” Alec says. 

“Not you too, traitor.” 

“Sorry,” Alec says unapologetically. 

“I’ll have to admit, that day was hilarious,” Toni says, calming down. “At least you didn’t run into a wall like I did.”

“I almost forgot about that!” Jess exclaims and begins to laugh. 

“The scolding I got from Dad was unbearable,” Toni sighs. “I can just imagine what Elle would have done if she saw it.”

“It’s Izzy’s fault that the birds got into the Institute in the first place,” Jess remembers.  

“I had no idea that they could get in from the greenhouse,” Izzy says.

“There must have been fifty of them,” Jace says. “They were not fun to get back out of the Institute.” 

“That was a pain to do, it took us hours,” Alec agrees.

“Then cleaning up took days,” Jess says. “So much bird crap. So much.” 

“We once had chipmunks in our institute when one of the kids brought one in as a pet,” Mari tells them.

“I didn’t even think you had chipmunks in London,” Simon says. 

“We do, they are horrid creatures to have in your homes,” Mari says. “It took us two weeks to find all of them.”

“The girls would always bring home stray cats and dogs when they were little,” Jocelyn says. “And of course, the cats hated Luke.” 

“That must have been horrible,” Alec says.

“The dogs, however, never wanted to leave,” Luke says. 

“I wonder what stories Elle has,” Toni says.

“You’ll be able to ask her yourself soon,” Jess says. “I just know it.” 

“I hope so, also who knows what dear old Dad put in us too.”

“Hey, no talking about what’s going on,” Jace says. “We all promised, remember.” 

“Sorry, I just wish she was here with us.”

“I know,” Jace says. 

“Anyway, it’s great we all decided to do this.” Toni smiles, trying to hide his sadness.

“I’m glad to get the chance to know all of you kids,” Jocelyn says. “Luke was telling me about all of you before I woke up.” 

As they get ready to leave, Alec’s phone goes off. It is the Clave with the results of what was given to Toni and Elle. Alec frowns for a second, then puts his phone back in his pocket. 

“What is it, Alexander?” Magnus asks.

“Just Clave stuff,” Alec says. “And no one calls me Alexander, you know.” 

“But me.” Magnus smirks.

“You’re not going to stop, are you?” Alec asks him. 

“No, I am not.”

Alec sighs again as they all head out of the restaurant, some of the others laughing at various things. 

“They told you didn’t they?” Magnus asks. “About the Starkweather twins.”

“Yeah. I’ll tell Toni tomorrow,” Alec says. “Tonight has been good for everyone. Let them stay in a good mood.” 

“Alright, did they tell you if she’s awake?”

“No, but they don’t tell me everything, even about my own people,” Alec says as they walk along the street. 

 

“Sir, you were right,” a circle member says. “He did put the vampire blood in his twins.”

“Where did he get the blood from?” Valentine asks. “Vampire blood has an addictive quality to it.” 

“I am not sure, we are working on that.”

“Work on it quicker,” Valentine orders. “I need to know.” 

“Of course sir,” he says, leaving.

“What should we do about the girl?” Another asks. “Should we still kill her?”

“No. Not yet. We need her alive and awake for a contingency plan,” Valentine says. “Someone to carry on the mission.” 

“Should we bring her here?”

“No. The Clave can’t know we have a mole. Just keep an eye on her. But if they wake her up, get her to Jonathan.” 

“Yes, sir,” he says, going to tell their mole the plan.

“I will get the Mortal Instruments even if it’s the last thing I do,” Valentine says. “And I will get my family back together.”

 

Four days later, in the Clave’s infirmary, Gabrielle slowly wakes up after the nurses gave her a few things.

“You’re awake,” the nurse says. “We weren’t sure you’d wake up.” 

“Where am I?” Elle asks.

“In the hospital in Alicante,” the nurse tells her. “Do you remember what happened to you?” 

“I remember meeting Jonathan, and then I got bad pain in my arms and head. After that, nothing.”

“You were in a coma. Your friends and family were very worried about you. We think all the stress you were under caused your body to shut down.” 

“Oh, I had no idea that could happen,” Elle says, sitting up before laying back down. “Whoa, dizzy.”

“Take it easy,” she says. “I’ll go get the healer to look you over.” 

“Alright, thank you.”

The nurse leaves the room to go find the healer. Gabrielle tries to keep calm so she doesn’t slip into another coma. She licks her lips, why is she so thirsty and so warm?

“Hello, Miss Starkweather,” the healer says, walking into the room. “How are you feeling?” 

“Really thirsty,” Elle tells the healer.

“Oh, here.” The healer uses his stele to draw the hydration rune on her arm. “There. That should help you.” 

“Thank you.”

“Of course. Do you need anything else? Is there anyone you would like us to portal in to see you?” he asks her. 

“My brother, please,” Elle asks.

“Okay. I’ll have a nurse get him here after I look you over and give you some more healing runes,” he says. 

“Okay, and.....is there something wrong with me?” Elle asks. “My canines are sharper than before.”

“We tested your brother’s and your blood,” he says. “It turned out that your father gave your mother vampire blood as his own experiment.” 

“What?”

“We believe he was trying to copy Valentine, but he could only get his hands on vampire blood,” the healer says, checking her over. 

“How could he do that to us?” Elle asks. “I thought he at least cared for us.”

“I don’t know,” he says. “Back in the days of the Circle, they were all constantly trying to get Valentine’s approval.” 

“So, he wanted to be on Valentine’s good side,” Elle scoffs.

“I find that people are rarely rational,” he says, drawing a few new healing runes on her. “I’ll go talk to one of the nurses to get your brother here.” 

“Thank you, sir.”

“No problem. With any luck, you’ll get to go home soon.” 

Gabrielle watches as he leaves, so, she’s like Jonathan? She looks at her hands, what can she do being half vampire?


	11. Chapter 11

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Toni smiles at his sister as he enters her room. “I was really worried about you.” 

“I’m sorry for worrying you,” Elle says. “I don’t know why I just blacked out like that. It’s never happened before.”

“Well, hopefully it’ll never happen again,” he says. He sits down beside her. “We all had dinner last night. It was a lot of fun. I wish you could have been there.” 

“Did....did they tell you about what Dad did to us?”

“What?” Toni asks. 

“Dad, well, he gave us vampire blood while Mom was pregnant with us,” Elle tells him.

“What?” Toni asks. “Who told you that?” 

“The healer.”

“Your Institute head was informed as well,” says a nurse that had walked in a few moments ago. 

“Alec knows and he didn’t say anything?” Elle asks. “When did he find out?”

“Last night,” the nurse says. 

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Toni says. “I’m not as close to him as Jace is, but we’re supposed to be friend.” 

“You must have been so happy last night, that he didn’t want to ruin it after everything that happened.”

“Still, I thought he would have told me. He seems happier now that he’s spending some time with Magnus.” 

“He’d want you to be happy too. Don’t get angry with him, get angry at Dad.”

“I can’t do anything about Dad, though. I just can’t believe he did this to us. And to Mom. That stuff is highly addicting. Dad told you about Tessa, right?” 

“Yes, he did,” Elle says, hugging her knees.

“Jem Carstairs was addicted to the stuff. It was the only thing keeping him alive, but it was also killing him.” 

“He wanted to be on Valentine’s good side, just think what he would have done if he had gotten free.”

“Thank the angle for Jocelyn,” Toni says. “Who knows what would have happened if she hadn’t told us everything. I’m glad she and Luke can be happy now.” 

“Me too.” Elle smiles before coughing. “Uh, I feel like crap.”

“The healers here are the best,” Toni says. “A lot of Shadowhunters have their kids here too.” 

“We will need to look over her more,” the nurse says. “She will be able to go home in the next few days.”

“I’ll stay here until then,” Toni tells his sister. “The others can hold down the fort.” 

“Aww, there goes my plan to see Paris,” Elle says sarcastically and pouts.

“We can see Paris some other day, I promise,” Toni  replies. “It’s a beautiful city. Although, I prefer New York.” 

“Sarcasm, Toni.” Elle smiles. “I’ll see Paris with Izzy.”

“You’d rather go to Paris with my girlfriend than me? I’m hurt,” he jokes. 

“Well, she will be my sister, right?”

“Alright, Mr. Starkweather, we need to look your sister over more,” the healer says.

“Okay,” Toni says. “I’ll be right outside, Ellie, okay?” 

“Okay,” Elle says. 

 

“Sir, she’s awake,” the mole says.

“Okay, keep an eye on her until we can extract her from the hospital,” Valentine says. “We have to take her before they release her. Once she gets back to New York, the window is closed.” 

“She is set for release in two days.”

“Then we pull her out tomorrow,” Valentine says. “Find a warlock that’s good with healing and take them to Jonathan’s cabin just in case.” 

“Yes sir,” he says and leaves.

“Everything can still go according to plan.” 

 

The next day, everyone goes to Idris to see Gabrielle. All of them are happy to know she is awake and healing.

“We were so worried,” Clary says. “They said you might not ever wake up from the coma.” 

“I am so sorry for worrying all of you,” Elle says. “But thank you for thinking of me.”

“You’re family. And we never turn our back on family,” Izzy says. 

“Thank you, so much.”

“Hopefully in a few days you’ll get to go home,” Izzy says. 

“They said I can go home tomorrow.” Elle smiles.

“Really? That’s great,” Izzy says. 

“The healer says I should be okay, which is great because I do not wanna go through that again.”

“No one ever wants to go through any health issues.” 

“Excuse me,” the nurse says, walking in. “We would like to go over some more tests just in case. Also, the Clave wants to talk to all of you.”

“About what?” Toni asks the nurse. 

“The cup.”

“We already gave it to them,” Jace says.

“That is all they told me.”

“When do they want to talk to us?” Jess asks. “And where?” 

“In the conference room, right now.”

They all say goodbye to Elle and head down to the conference room. What does the Clave want with them about the Cup? However when they enter, only Luke and Jocelyn are there. No Clave member is in sight.

“Mom?” Clary asks. “What are you doing here? Where are the Clave members?” 

“We were told to come here to discuss the cup,” Jocelyn says. “The Clave sent for us about an hour ago.”

“One of the nurses said the same thing to us,” Clary says. “This is odd.” 

“What are you doing here?” Robert asks. “Shouldn’t you be in the infirmary with Ms. Starkweather?”

“We were told to come down here,” Alec says. 

“No one will be coming here today, the Clave is currently working on keeping the sword safe.”

“But the nurse said that you wanted to talk to us about the Cup,” Jess says. 

“What?” Robert asks. “No one has been around but me and the newest Clave member. We are here to sort out some other work.”

“This makes no sense,” Jocelyn says. 

“Dad, who is this new member?” Izzy asks. “I didn’t know the Clave had anyone new.”

“He came in a few days before Ms. Starkweather came,” Robert says. “He was originally from the London institute, his name is Matthew.”

“What!?” Marinette yells.

They all turn and look at Mari, surprised at her outburst. 

“No! He’s not a friend! He’s a circle member!” Mari tells them. “Didn’t he have a cut on his shoulder?”

“I didn’t see his shoulder,” Robert says.

“Hang on, Jocelyn and I were both in the Circle and so was Robert,” Luke says.    
“And I don’t remember anyone named Matthew.” 

“That’s because he changed his name, his name was Charles Freeman.”

“Oh no,” Jocelyn says. “We need to get back to Elle’s room. Now.” 

Toni, Izzy and Mari are the first out of the room and run back to Elle’s room. Upon arrival they see the room is a mess and Elle is gone.

“He’s got her,” Jocelyn says, walking in the room behind them. “Poor girl. We have to get her back before…”

“I will go and inform the Clave immediately,” Robert says, running off.

“He’d take her to Jonathan. Then Jonathan would be able to use his demonic abilities to make her do whatever he wants,” Jocelyn says. 

“If did, he would have done it the first time,” Toni says. “But he didn’t seem interested, but if he’s under his father’s orders....”

“There’s no telling what Valentine will have him do to her.” 

“Damn it!” Toni yells, punching the wall.

“Feel better?” Luke asks him. 

Toni glares at him, his eyes now a reddish color.

“Toni, we will find her. And if Valentine wanted her dead, he would have had Charles kill her, not kidnap her. He needs her for something.” 

“I’ll go get her,” Toni says, walking away.

“Someone should follow him,” Jocelyn says. “Anger makes people make stupid choices.” 

“We will go,” Izzy and Mari say, following Toni.

“The rest of us will head back to New York,” Alec says. “See if we can track her or something.” 

“Let’s go,” Jace says.

They take a portal back to New York and head into Elle’s room to find stuff to track her with.

“Let’s split into teams,” Alec says. “It’ll make it easier to find her.” 

“Right.”

“Jace and I can be a team,” Alec says. “I’ll call Magnus too and see if he can use his magic to help.” 

“Jess, do you think Raph will help?” Clary asks.

“I can talk to him, but he can’t do anything until it’s a bit darker outside,” Jess says. 

“I’ll have the pack help out,” Luke says. 

They all head out to track Elle.

 

“Here she is, sir,” Charles says, dropping Elle who is unconscious.

“I told you to be careful,” Valentine snaps. “I need her in working order. I can’t have someone broken produce another heir.” 

“Sorry Sir.” Charles picks Elle back up, only a small scratch from earlier is present.

“Go put her in her new room,” Valentine says. “And make sure she can’t get out.” 

“Of course sir, shall I get Jonathan?” Charles asks.

“I’ll handle my son,” Valentine replies.

Charles nods and leaves the room, taking Elle to her new room and locks her inside.

Valentine heads off to go talk to Jonathan. Jonathan is waiting in the Cabin, his mind preoccupied. He had sudden pain and is confused as to why.

“Hello jonathan,” Valentine says. “The plan is in motion.” 

“Is she alright?” Jonathan asks.

“Of course she is. The plan wouldn’t work if she wasn’t.”

Jonathan nods, why does he care if she is hurt or not? 

“You know what you have to do. You cannot hesitate, Jonathan. This needs to happen.” 

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Let’s go,” Valentine says. 

Jonathan nods and follows his father.

 

“Let me out!” Gabrielle hisses.

“Be quiet!” the guard outside her door snap. “Valentine needs you personally. You should feel honored.” 

“Honored? Yea right.”

“Show a little appreciation. You have a nice room. You’ll be treated well.” 

“Whatever Valentine is planning, it won’t happen. He hurt my friends and killed my mother.”

“I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice in the matter,” he says. 

Elle sighs and sits on her bed, she needs to get out and head home.

“They should be here soon,” he says. 

“Joy.”

“I’d lose the attitude if I were you, honey.” 

“Like I’m scared of them.”

“You should be.” 

Elle huffs and hears footsteps heading their way, now she gets to meet the man who ruined many people’s lives.

The door opens and Jonathan steps inside. The door shuts behind him and the lock clicks. 

“Oh now you want to see me,” Elle says.

“I’m not here to see you. I’m here because I have a mission from my father.” 

“Well you can forget it, I want nothing to do with him.”

“You don’t have to have anything to do with him,” Jonathan says, walking towards her. “You just have to deal with me.” 

“I don’t want to deal with you, either,” Elle says. “You had your chance before.”

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.” 

“Yes I do.”

“No, you don’t.” Jonathan pulls out a knife. 

“I’d rather die then, I am not going to help him in anyway. He murdered my mother and countless others.”

“Ah, but I need you alive,” Jonathan says. “That doesn’t mean I can’t hurt you a little bit to get you to comply.” 

“No thanks, I will never comply.”

He walks over to where she’s sitting on her bed. “Then I’ll just make you.” 

“Just try it, Demon.”

He pushes her down roughly. “You’re unarmed. There’s nothing you can do.” 

“Who says I am unarmed? I can still fight.”

“Good luck with that.” 

“I am skilled even if I don’t look it.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to do this.”

 

“We have to find her,” Toni says, pacing around the main area. 

“We will find her,” Izzy says. “It will take a while, but we will find her.”

“She might not have a while!” Toni exclaims. 

“They won’t kill her! If they wanted her dead, they would have killed her when she was still in her coma.”

“Well, once they use her for whatever they need her for, then they’ll kill her,” Toni replies. 

“Unless they want a backup for Valentine’s plan,” Clary says, in realization. 

“But she would never go along with his plan,” Jace says. “And it would take a lot of effort to force her into anything.” 

“I know, so hopefully we will find her before that happens.”

“How do we find her?” Jess asks. “None of us are connected to her.” 

“Can we use something of hers to track her?” Mari asks. 

“We can try,” Alec says. “With any luck we’ll find her in the next few days.” 

“I will get something of hers,” Toni says, going to Elle’s room and grabs a stuffed bear.

Jace takes it and activated his tracking rune. He focuses for a few moments. “Nothing. We’re gonna have to find her the old fashion way.” 

“That could take weeks,” Izzy says. “How is it the cabin just vanished?”

“Very powerful magic,” Alec says. 

“Let’s just find her,” Toni says.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long, finals and the holidays took up a lot of my time. I will upload the last of the chapters by the 15th. I promise! I am glad you all love it!

“Told ya I’m strong,” Elle says, pinning Jonathan to the bed.

He flips her over and pins her down. He pushes a knife to her throat. 

She looks at him, no sign of fear anywhere on her face, but her eyes reflect the sorrow she feels.

“I have to do this,” he says. 

“You don’t have to do what he says, I know you don’t want to do this,” she says.

“I do as he says. And this is what he wants. So it’s what I’m going to do. It’s always smart to have a backup plan.” 

“But do you want to? I know you are more than his little soldier.”

“I’m my own person,” he says. “The downworlders are a problem. We need to get rid of all of them.” 

“Are they really? Yes there are some that cause problem, but not all of them do. It’s like with shadowhunters, there are good and bad ones. Same with mundanes, there is always good and bad,” Elle says.

“They go around hurting mundanes and causing trouble for all of us. Vampires are parasites, werewolves are overgrown dogs, warlocks are unnatural, and seelies are tricksters. Our jobs will be a lot easier without them.” 

“Why do you get to choose that? There is a reason we all are here.”

“I don’t believe that,” Jonathan says. “Pests must be killed. They serve no purpose.” 

“Is that because your father said that? Did he say the same about soulmates?” Elle asks.

“Soulmates are the clave’s way of controlling and breeding shadowhunters,” Jonathan says. “That’s all they care about. You may as well be dogs, obeying their every pointless order. Having no mind of your own.” 

“The Clave actually doesn’t care that much about soulmates, they do not want me anywhere near you despite us being mates.”

“I don’t have mate! Will you just shut up?!” he exclaims. 

Elle takes this as a chance to knock him into the wall and moves off the bed to a safe distance. Despite her injuries, she still strong enough to fight.

Jonathan gets back up onto his feet. “So, we’re going to do this the hard way, then. Alright. It’ll be more fun that way.” 

“Fun for me.”  Elle smirks.

“I wouldn’t count on that.” Jonathan hits her over the head and knocks her unconcious. As he goes to pick her up he feels pain in his head, right in the same area he just hit Gabrielle. He ignores the pain and dumps her on the bed.

 

“Still no leads?” Jace asks, walking back into the ops center. 

“Nothing,” Marinette says. “It’s as if she never existed.”

“How is that even possible?” Clary asks. “There has to be some other way to track her or something.” 

“We already tried,” Izzy says. “We can’t use the parabatai tracking because she has no parabatai, she doesn’t exactly have a soulmate and using her items didn’t work.”

“What about warlock tracking?” Toni asks. “It’s stronger than shadowhunter tracking.” 

“I could ask Magnus,” Alec says. “He should be able to find her.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Jace replies. “But it might not work either. Especially seeing as they don’t want to be found.” 

Alec heads off to talk to Magnus while everyone else continues to work.

 

“Alexander. How nice to see you,” Magnus says, answering the door. “Business or pleasure?” 

“Business, for now,” Alec says. “It’s been too long since Gabrielle was taken, we know it’s a long shot, but can you track her?”

“I can try, but I can’t promise you anything,” he says. “If someone doesn’t want to be found, then there are wardings. They’d have to be made by someone powerful.” 

“Do what you can.”

“Do you have something of hers?” Magnus asks. 

“I do,” Alec holds out Elle’s favorite stuffed bear.

Magnus takes it and focused on finding her. After a minute, he drops the bear and staggers back a few steps. 

Alec instantly goes to his side and puts his arms around him to keep him steady. 

“This is bad,” he says after a few moments. 

“What’s wrong?” Alec asks.

“We can’t get to her,” he says. “This is powerful magic. They’re nowhere and everywhere at the same time.” 

“What? So there is absolutely no way to know where she can be?”

“Unfortunately the only way into the house is to be brought there by either Valentine or Jonathan,” Magnus says. 

“That is not going to be easy. Thank you for trying Magnus, you should rest now,” Alec says, helping him to the couch.

“I wish I could be more helpful. That poor girl…” he says, sitting down.

“We will find her,” Alec says, dialing Jace’s phone.

“The damage may have already been done by then.” Magnus sighs. “Good luck, Alexander.” 

“Jace, tell Toni it’s time for his plan. Hodge may be the only one with answers now,” Alec says.

“You really think he’s going to tell us anything?” Jace asks. 

“It’s our only option left.”

“Alright. I’ll see you soon,” Jace says. 

 

Toni makes his way down to the dungeon where his father is, this is their last option.

“Hello Antonio,” he says. “Nice to see you.” 

“I would like to say the same, but no,” Toni says. “I’m here for information. Where are Valentine and Jonathan?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m in a cage. How would I know anything?” 

“Because you were still in contact with him all of this time. If you even have a ounce of love in you, you would help us find my sister.”

“Why would I betray Valentine? Besides, he doesn’t mean to harm her in any way. He just needs her,” Hodge says. 

“So you are just going to let him torture her until he gets what he wants?”

“He’s not going to torture her,” Hodge says. “He would never harm either of you.” 

“How do you know that for sure?” Toni asks.

“He would never harm another Shadowhunter unless he saw them as a threat,” Hodge says. 

“I do not trust that. You deserve to be down here, you betrayed our mother and us,” Toni says. “And now I will never get to know mom.”

“The Clave betrayed me! I haven’t been outside in over eighteen years! They locked me up in this place because of my involvement in the Circle! Meanwhile, Lucian and Jocelyn, Valentine’s wife and parabatai, got to live their lives as they wanted. Even the Lightwoods get to do whatever they want! They ran this Institute! Just because they had Alec, they got off easy!” 

“But you had me! Wasn’t I enough!? I’m your son and all you cared about was helping Valentine! The man who attacked your wife!”

“She took your sister and abandoned us! You should feel no loyalty to her. She didn’t want you. And Valentine promised me my freedom! Can you imagine how awful it is to not be able to leave the confines of this place for so long?” 

Toni’s eyes turn red and he throws his mother’s journal at him. Inside is a picture of the two of them with her entry of how much she wished Hodge and Toni could be with her and know where they were.

“People lie to feel better about the things they do. And she could have found us. Or she could have taken both of you. But she didn’t. She left you behind.” 

“I trust my sister, she knew mother the most,” Toni says. “Mother didn’t know where you were because she detached herself from the Clave to shorten your sentence to 18 years which worked. You were to be freed today if you hadn’t betrayed us.”

“More lies. They sentenced me to remain here the rest of my life.”

“Your son isn’t lying,” Robert says, walking in. “Your wife gave up her name and life to help you. They were going to sentence her as well until this ultimatum.”

“What do you know about family? Your wife isn’t supposed to be with you, you’ve had an affair, your son in gay and with a warlock of all disgusting things and your daughter sleeps with anything with a heartbeat,” Hodge says. “I was there when I was sentenced. I’m not allowed to leave. Ever. They would have told me otherwise. Now, you both may as well leave because I’m not going to tell you anything anyways.” 

“Fine, here,” Toni says, throwing a box at him. “It’s from Gabrielle, when she was little. And never talk about Isabelle again.”

Robert and Toni both leave Hodge alone. He throws the box back at them as they leave, then goes back to his meditation. He has finally lost his son and he has no idea that his daughter is being tortured.

 

“Magnus says that there’s no way to track her,” Alec says. “We’re out of options. There’s nothing that we can do.” 

“Dad refuses to talk,” Toni says, his eyes still red. “I’m glad he’s going to rot in that jail.”

“Actually, we have to move him to the Clave,” Robert says. “Your holding cell is only meant to be temporary.” 

“As long as he’s rotting in some cell, I don’t care where he is,” Toni says.

“We will do everything in our power to locate your sister,” Robert promises. 

“Thank you, Mr Lightwood.”’

“I should get going. Keep up the good work around here. The Clave is pretty impressed with you all.” 

“Of course Father, thank you,” Alec says.

Robert leaves to go back to Idris, leaving the group of young Shadowhunters alone once again. 

Toni doesn’t talk at all, he’s still angry at what his father did.

“Why don’t we all just take the rest of the day off and relax?” Alec suggests. 

“That sounds good,” Mari says. “We haven’t rested well in the last few days.”

They all split up and go off to do their own thing, but are all still worried about their missing friend. Jess and Mari go to see Simon and Raph while Izzy keeps Toni calm, Clary stays with Jace and Alec goes to see Magnus again.

“I wish we could do something,” Clary says, sitting down on Jace’s bed. 

“I would take you out, but it is too risky,” Jace sighs, sitting next to her. “We can’t take anymore risks.”

“I mean about Elle. She’s our friend and my brother is doing the angel knows what to her and we can’t do anything about it.” 

“We will find her, I will do anything to find our friend.”

“How? She’s nowhere. We can’t track her. The only way to get to her is to be taken by Valentine,” Clary says. 

“Exactly, he’s going to be after the sword and mirror. So we find the mirror and protect that and the sword,” Jace says. “When we get one of his men, the Clave or overprotective Luke will get answers.”

“Luke isn’t that overprotective,” Clary says. “But I don’t think Valentine is going to make any mistakes anytime soon.” 

“We will have to see.”

“I’m glad we met,” Clary says. 

“Me too.” Jace smiles.

“You know, once things calm down, we should go out on a proper date,” Clary says. 

“We will.”

 

“She’s asleep?” Simon asks Raph as Mari leans on him, slowly falling asleep.

“Yeah,” he says. “She needs it. Things have been difficult lately for all of them.” 

“Yea, with Elle missing and Valentine going after the mortal instruments.”

“I fear the worst is ahead,” Raphael says. 

“Let’s hope what we were told about half breeds happens to Elle soon,” Simon says. “She could use it to fight against Jonathan.”

“I don’t think we’re supposed to call them half breeds,” Raphael says. “But anything will help. What does he even want with her?” 

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, it can’t be good.”

“We’ll have to do what we can to help the Clave during all this. We all need to come together to defeat them,” Raph says. 

“Yea,” Simon agrees. “We should get these two somewhere more comfortable.”

“Good idea,” Raphael says. He moves carefully to not wake up the girls. 

Raphael and Simon move the girls to their rooms and onto their beds so they can get good sleep.

 

“I just feel so useless,” Alec says, sitting on Magnus’s couch. “I’m their leader. I should be able to do something to help.” 

“Valentine is too difficult to follow, it’s not your fault,” Magnus says. “The Clave should have been looking for him when Jocelyn was found and kept better watch over his possible targets.”

“But we didn’t expect him to go after Elle. I gave the team the day off because I don’t know what the next move is. I can’t just tell them that we’re done looking for her.” 

“I will do everything I can to help you Alexander,” Magnus tells him.

“I know you  will,” Alec says. “And so will Luke’s pack and the vampires, but it might not be enough.” 

“We can ask the Seelie Court.”

“I don’t think we can trust them,” Alec says.

“We don’t have many other options.”

“I know, but the queen is unpredictable,” Alec says. “Just because she can’t lie doesn’t mean she can’t twist the truth.” 

“I know.”

 

Meanwhile, Elle is in her ‘prison’ crying alone. Her legs and arms are bruised and she can’t move properly because of the pain.

Valentine is watching from a monitor attached to a camera in her room. “Nice work, son.” 

“Thank you Father,” Jonathan says.

“Hopefully it worked the first time around, but you may have to do it again. Time will tell,” Valentine replies. 

‘I wouldn’t mind that,’ Jonathan thinks.

“You may go. But do stay out of her room. I don’t want you to get attached or anything.” 

“Yes Father,” Jonathan says, leaving.

Valentine turns back to the screen and begins planning on getting the Mortal Instruments. He knows it’ll be harder now that the Clave is carefully guarding them and he’s already blown the cover of one of his moles in the Clave to get the girl for Jonathan. It’ll be hard, but he refuses to give up. 

Jonathan sneaks into Gabrielle’s room, he needs to make sure no one sees him.

However, Valentine is still watching the security feed. 

“W-what do you want?” Elle hisses, seeing him.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re alright,” Jonathan says. 

“Why do you care?” she asks, a bit surprised.

“I don’t know.” 

“I know I should hate you, but I don’t. Your father messed you up.”

“Don’t talk about my father like that,” Jonathan snaps. “At least he didn’t abandon me like my mother did.” 

“I get that you’re mad at her and like your father better, I’m the same with my parents.”

“Don’t act like you understand. My mother wanted to kill me the first time she saw me. She hated me. How could you hate your own child from the first moment you meet them? Honestly, she’s a terrible mother and a horrible person, but everyone sees my father as a villain just because he doesn’t believe in the same things they do.” 

“What? I talked to your mother, she regrets leaving you. She still has some of your stuff with her, yes she was scared and didn’t know what to do, but she never wanted you to die,” Gabrielle says. 

“Why should I believe you over my own father? You’re nothing to me. He’s the man that’s taken care of me my whole life. Don’t try to manipulate me. I’m smarter than that and I’m not going to let you out of here.” 

“I am not trying to manipulate you, I’m just telling you what I have witnessed,” Gabrielle tells him honestly. “I know I am not getting out of here anytime soon with how sore I am.”

“I’m leaving,” he says. He heads over to the door. 

“Thank you,” she says, suddenly. “For checking on me.”

“Whatever,” he says and leaves her room and locks the door behind him. 

Gabrielle watches him leave, unsure how to feel about what just happened. 


	13. Chapter 13

“What’s Valentine waiting for?” Clary asks as they’re all sitting around a table. “It’s been like two weeks since he took Elle and he hasn’t made another move.” 

“It is strange,” Alec says. “He doesn’t seem like the type to wait too long.”

“Something bad is going to happen,” Izzy says. “Something really, really bad.” 

“We will have to be on high alert,” Alec says. “Even more than usual, I will inform the vampires, werewolves and warlocks to keep an extra eye out.”

“Good idea,” Jace says. “We should all be extra careful too. I have a feeling he’ll do something here or in Idris. Clary, make sure your mother knows to be careful. He might have something planned for her.” 

“Right,” Clary nods.

“Make sure to stay in a group,” Toni says. “Do not go out alone for any reason.”

“Tell me where you’re going,” Alec says. “I’ll keep a list of where everyone is if they’ve left the building just in case. Don’t use anti-tracking runes just in case something does happen to you so we can try to track you.” 

“Right,” they all agree.

“I’m gonna go to the training room,” Toni says before leaving.

“We’ll be in the lounge,” Jace says. “I’m still trying to teach Clary to play piano.” 

“Jess and I are going to get some things that may help,” Mari says.

“Alright, be careful,” Alec says. “I’ll be in my office.” 

Izzy goes to watch Toni, he has been in a bad mood since he lost his sister and his father had no care for either of his children. 

“I can feel you standing there watching me,” he says, his back to her. 

“Am I not allowed to watch you work out without a shirt?” Izzy asks.

“Not while you’re feeling bad for me,” he says, hitting the punching bag really hard. 

“I know you’re upset, but you can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

“She’s my sister! She’s out there being tortured or the angel knows what by that psychopath and there’s nothing we can do about it, Izzy!” 

“I know Toni, but sulking about it isn’t going to change anything.”

“I’m not sulking.” 

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m punching a giant bag to take out my frustrations,” he says. 

“Fine, I will be in my room if you need me,” Izzy says, walking away.

He sighs and watches her leave. He knows he shouldn’t be cross with her, but he’s really worried about his sister. He’ll have to apologize to Izzy later. 

They need to capture Valentine fast before anything worse can happen. The problem is that nobody knows where he is and there is no way to track him because he doesn’t have a soulmate and his connection to Luke was severed when he got turned. 

“Sir! We got a hit!” A hunter says, entering Alec’s office.

“Where?” Alec asks. 

“Here in New York City, one of Raphael’s men spotted him.”

“Alright. I’ll get a team together,” Alec says, standing up from his desk. “Thank you.” 

The hunter nods and heads off to tell Jace and the others.

Alec heads to get ready to head out to the fight

“About time we got a lead,” Jace says, grabbing his weapons.

“Well, it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t want to be found,” Alec says, arming himself. 

“I’m going to have fun with this,” Toni smirks, cleaning his daggers.

“The Clave wants him alive,” Alec reminds Toni 

“Doesn’t mean I can’t beat him to a pulp first, I won’t kill him.”

“Just don’t overdo it,” Alec says. 

“Fine, I will leave some to Clary.” Toni high fives Clary.

Alec sighs and the team heads out to follow up on the lead from the vampire. They find the Circle members and Valentine. The team begins to fight the circle. 

 

“Jonathan? Is that you?” Gabrielle questions, looking around her room sensing someone.

Jonathan doesn’t say anything. He’s well hidden in the corner of the room, away from the cameras. She looks around, not scared but curious. The two have gotten closer even though this isn’t the best situation. He’s not supposed to see her unless his father tells him to, but he sneaks in occasionally. 

“Your father isn’t around you know and the guy he usually has watching falls asleep. I overheard some of the others talking.”

“I’m not supposed to be in here, regardless,” Jonathan says. “I didn’t think you were awake.” 

“I’ve been having a hard time sleeping with the guards always mocking me,” Gabrielle sighs.

“Don’t worry about them,” Jonathan says. “They’re idiots.” 

“I know, I just can’t help but worry that what they say is true.”

“What do you mean?” Jonathan asks. 

“Do you honestly think I’m stupid? I know what your father wants and I know that once he gets it, I’m good as dead.”

“Maybe your friends will find you by then,” Jonathan says. “You’ve got plenty of time and they don’t seem like idiots.” 

“I hope so. You can come out of the shadows now.” Gabrielle smiles.

“My father might review the security footage,” Jonathan says. 

“He never does.”

“How do you know?” Jonathan asks. 

“Most of the guys who stand outside my door don’t realize how loud they talk.”

“I thought this room was sound proof.” 

“It is, they can’t hear into here, but I can hear them. I don’t know,” Gabrielle shrugs.

“That’s odd.” 

“Come here Jonathan.” She pats next to her.

Jonathan slowly leaves the dark corner he’s standing in and sits on the bed, several inches away from her. She giggles and moves closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Jonathan is a little rigid and uncomfortable with the closeness. His arm starts to feel a little warm and tingly, but remains blank. Gabrielle hums a soft song, one she knows can calm anyone. To an outside observer, they would seem like any other couple, but that is far from the truth. Their situation is very complicated, but they are slowly getting closer.

 

“Where is Gabrielle? I’m not going to ask again?” Alec asks Valentine, standing on the other side of the glass in the dungeon in the Silent City. 

“It’s too late to do anything, Lightwood,” Valentine says. “You will never find her.”

“I would think you’d rather deal with me than the Clave, but apparently not. I’ll have to tell them that you wouldn’t cooperate.” 

Valentine smirks, his plan is working. Although he does not realize how close his son is getting to Gabrielle and that Toni and Gabrielle’s vampire powers are coming to light. Also, they are not the only ones, Jessica is as well.

Alec turns and walks out of the room, not letting Valentine see his frustration and anger. 

“Anything?” Jace questions.

“No. He just smirked at me like he’s got some elaborate plan in place. I’ll have to have the Clave send in its interrogators,” Alec says. 

“Great, just what we need,” Jace sighs. “Toni really hasn’t been himself.”

“Neither has Izzy,” Alec says and sighs. “I’m supposed to be in charge, but I feel completely useless right now.” 

“We will figure this out, let’s head ho-” Jace stops mid sentence when Alec’s cell phone goes off.

Alec pulls it out to check who is calling. It’s his sister, there are also multiple texts from her. “Izzy? What’s up?” he asks, answering his phone. 

“Alec! Get home fast! It’s Toni! Something is wrong!” Izzy yells, clearly panicked.

“Jace and I will be there in a few minutes. What’s wrong with Toni?” Alec says, walking quickly 

“H-he’s not himself, his eyes are still red and....He’s like a fledgling Vampire.”

“Is Jess there with you?” Alec asks her. 

“No, she’s with Raph,” Izzy tells him.

“Call her and talk to Raphael. He might know something.” 

“Alright, just get here soon.”

“We will,” Alec says. He hangs up the phone and pulls out his stele to activate his speed rune. 

 

Izzy calls Jess and tells her about what is happening to Toni. Jess puts her phone on speakerphone. 

“What exactly is happening?” Raphael asks Izzy. 

“He’s currently watching everyone, he’s attacked any hunter who tries to get close. Thankfully he hasn’t hurt anyone too badly.”

“Calmly and carefully get everyone out of whatever room you’re in. No sudden movements. You don’t want to startle him,” Raphael tells her.

“Right, please come here soon. He needs help,” Izzy says, waving for everyone to leave.

“Sunset is in about ten minutes. I’ll leave as soon as I can. Call Magnus to come over. He can help until I can get there. Izzy, do not get close to him.” 

“I won’t, see you soon,” Izzy hangs up and calls Magnus.

“Hello Isabelle,” Magnus says. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” 

“Magnus, Toni’s vampire side has taken over,” Izzy says.

“Has anyone been hurt?” Magnus asks her. 

“A few bruises, but nothing more than that,” Izzy says, even though she’s in pain but there isn’t much you can do to help her. 

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Magnus says. He hangs up the phone and portals into the Institute. 

Izzy is in the library, still keeping a good distance between her and Toni. Mari and Clary are further away, trying to find someway to help Toni.

“Has anyone contacted Raphael?” Magnus asks, slowly walking over to Izzy, keeping an eye on Toni. 

“He will be here once the sun is down,” Izzy informs, her eyes still on her boyfriend.

“Biscuit, take your friend and carefully leave. Until Raphael gets here, Izzy and I will have to handle this.” 

“Right,” Clary nods and her and Mari leave the room.

“Talk to him,” Magnus instructs Izzy.

Izzy nods and takes a small step towards Toni, “Toni, it’s me, Izzy.”

“Don’t move much closer,” Magnus warns her.

“Toni, can you hear me?” Izzy calls to him, stay away but close enough that  he can hear her.

Toni looks over at her, baring his teeth threateningly. His eyes are blood red. 

“Don’t worry, I am here to help you.”

“Talk about a strong memory. Remind him who he is,” Magnus tells her. 

“Remember when we went out on our first date? When you were so nervous you tripped over your own feet into the fountain.” Izzy smiles at the memory.

Toni is still watching her, but he seems to be listening to what she’s saying. 

“You did everything in your power to make me happy that night. I am so lucky to have you as my soulmate.”

Toni seems to be calming down a little, but he still looks hostile. Izzy continues to talk to him, sharing all of their happy memories.

Raphael gets there as quickly as he can. 

Toni goes back into a defensive stance and growls.

Raphael tosses a bag of blood at him and watches him carefully from a few away. Toni attacks the bag and drinks the blood, slowly calming down.

“Give him a couple minutes,” Raphael says. “The stress he’s under must have caused his vampire blood to activate.” 

“Could this happen to any halfer?” Izzy questions, now worrying about her parabatai and Gabi.

“Not always,” Raphael says. “It’s usually not this dramatic. Not there are that many halflings anyways.” 

After a while Toni is sort of back to himself, his eyes are still red. 

“W-what just happened?” Toni asks.

“Your vampire half activated,” Raphael tells him. “Rather violently.” 

“Great, and I’m guessing you don’t know anything that I can do now?”

“No, unfortunately. Vampire halflings are very uncommon,” Raphael says. “I’d like to bring you to the hotel for a few days and keep and eye on you.”

“Fine.”

“I just want to make sure you’re not a threat and to see the full strength of your abilities,” Raphael explains. 

“Right. Wait, could this happen to my sister?” Toni panics. 

“I don’t know. It may have already happened. Maybe it’s different for females,” Raphael says. 

Toni sighs and falls back onto the floor, clearly exhausted. He looks over at Izzy and smiles a little. 

“Maybe I should have relaxed like you told me to.” Toni smiles.

“You know, I am right sometimes,” Izzy says. “No need to sound so surprised.”

Toni chuckles. “Do I have to leave now or can I stay with Izzy for a while?” 

“You can stay for a while. I will too. But we have to be back before sunrise.” 

“Alright.” Toni jumps up and takes Izzy to their shared room.

“Good to see him back to himself.” Jace chuckles as he and Alec walk in.

“I wouldn’t quite say that. All of the halflings have to potential to have their powers activated soon with how old you’re getting and all the stress you’re under,” Raphael says. 

“We will have to keep an eye on that,” Alec says. “If any of you notice something off, tell someone immediately.” 

They all agree to keep an eye on each other over the next few weeks. Toni goes to stay at the hotel with Simon and Raphael to discover what powers he now has in addition to his shadowhunter abilities. The team continues to search for leads while Valentine is ‘interrogated’ by the Clave. Valentine give crypted answers and keeps everyone in the dark. The team gets very frustrated. Little did they know that something big is about to happen.

“Sir! Something is wrong with the pris- I mean with Ms Starkweather,” a Circle member tells Jonathan.

“What is it?” Jonathan asks. 

“I believe her vampire half has activated. She’s more hostile towards us.”

“Get some blood,” Jonathan says. 

“Yes sir.” The circle member runs off to get some blood.

Jonathan takes it from them and goes to into Elle’s room. She hisses at him and gets into a dangerous stance.

“Woah, it’s just me,” Jonathan says, standing non threateningly 

She doesn’t say anything, but stays in her stance.

He tosses the bag of blood at her, keeping his eyes on her to watch for danger. She attacks the bag and drinks the blood. When she is done, she glares at him and attacks him.

Jonathan quickly leaves the room to let her calm down. 

“Sir, what should we do?” The circle member asks.

“Just give her a little time. Don’t go in there.” Jonathan is in charge now that Valentine has been captured, but he still needs to follow his father’s wishes. 

“Yes sir.” Another says. “But...what if she stays like this?”

“She won’t. But just in case, someone needs to watch her brother. My intel says that he’s changed. Maybe the idiots in New York know how to deal with this.” 

“Yes si.,” The member walks off.

Jonathan sighs and watches Gabrielle from the security camera. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Now things may have been screwed up for good. 

“Do you care for her?” The one who normally watches the cameras asks.

“No. Of course not.” 

“Are you sure? You seemed happy when you’re with her. Also, she actually is nice to you.”

“Are you questioning my loyalty to my father’s mission? He will return and I don’t think he’ll be happy to hear about this.” 

“I’m not saying that, sir,” he says. “But don’t you think he’d like to know that you always sneak into her room?”

“I’m allowed to check on the prisoner. This will all work better if I can get her to trust me.” 

“And that you are falling in love?” He points to his arm where you can faintly see golden GS.

“Don’t be ridiculous. The concept of soulmates is just controlled breeding by the Clave. The concept should be eradicated entirely.” 

“If it was, why would you have one with the demon blood you have?”

“How the hell should I know? I do have Shadowhunter blood, you know. My useless mother was one and so is my father. He was just smart enough to know I could be something better.” 

“Whatever you say sir. Guess I’ll tell him about you and Gabrielle getting close last night. About that smile you had.”

“All a manipulation of the girl. I’m trying to go about this in a more practical manner than my father was.” 

“And what about you saying that her friends are going to find her?” He asks.

“I can’t have the girl getting depressed, can I? That wouldn’t be good for my future child.” Jonathan moves close to the guard. “Question my loyalty again and you’ll be wishing you were locked up like her.” 

“Fine. Looks like she’s back to normal now.”

“Good. Let me know if that changes,” Jonathan says, then heads back to his own room. 

The man watches as he walks away, he knows Jonathan has been made to be this by his messed up father. He looks back at the screen and smiles, his plan is working.


	14. Chapter 14

“It’s been three months! She could be dead by now and they still can’t get anything out of Valentine?” Clary asks. “I thought they were supposed to be good at getting information from people.”  She and some of the others are hanging out in the kitchen. 

“The sword is gone,” Mari sighs. “That was what was used to get information. They should talk to the Colombians, they are great spies and such.”

“The Clave thinks that they can break him soon,” Alec says. “They have their best tracker on the case and I don’t even want to know how much they’ve paid warlocks at this point. I think their main concern is finding Valentine’s base, not Gabrielle.” 

“I guess you’re right.”

Toni, Izzy, Jace, and Jess walk in. Jess is learning her new abilities and it helps when she has another halfer there.

“I still haven’t told my dad,” Jess says, opening the fridge. “I have no idea how to tell him.” 

“Just say it,” Toni says. “At least you have parents to tell. I remember mi abuela going insane when she found out.”

“Imagine how well that conversation will go. ‘Hey Dad, just to let you know, apparently I was made after you were turned, so now I can turn into various dogs.’ I’m not even really a werewolf. More like a shapeshifter.” 

“Well I don’t know what to tell you,” Toni shrugs when his cell phone beeps. He takes it out and nearly runs into Alec from shock. 

“What is it?” Alec asks him, seeing the look on his face. 

“MY COUSIN WAS WORKING FOR VALENTINE!?!” 

“What cousin?” Izzy asks him. 

“My cousin from my mother’s side of the family. He worked for Valentine.”

“To be fair, a lot of people worked for Valentine,” Jess says. “He and my dad used to be parabatai and Valentine and my mom used to be together.” 

“He has my sister back in Colombia.”

“Your cousin has your sister? I thought she was in Valentine’s base,” Alec says. 

“That’s where he was and he brought her to my family estate,” Toni reads. 

“Why would he do that? That makes her trackable,” Clary says. “I think this might be a trap.” 

“Didn’t you hear what I said before Clary?” Mari asks. “Colombians are natural spies.”

“She has a point, look at what the mundanes can do,” Izzy agrees.

“I know, but it’s really stupid of them to take her from the base and have a circle member bring her to his house,” Clary says. 

“He’s not an actual member,” Toni says. “He was there to help us.”

“You just said he was a circle member,” Jace says. 

“I didn’t read the entire text,” Toni says honestly.

“Well, now things are in the Clave’s hands, then,” Alec says. “They will decide what to do with her. They’ll probably move her into protection.” 

“I just want to see her again,” Toni sighs.

“You can easily be tracked,” Alec reminds him. “It would put Izzy at risk. For now, we all just have to stay here and let the clave do their job.” 

“Fine. I’m just glad she is safe now.”

“I’ll let you know if the clave tells me anything,” Alec tells his friends. “At least she’s safe. Jess, Clary, make sure your parents know to be on the lookout. Especially your mother. We don’t know what Jonathan will do.” 

“Right,” The sisters agree.

“I will text Simon to tell Raph,” Mari says.

“No one leave the institute without either telling me or logging it into the computer,” Alec says. “Even if you’re just going out for air.” 

“Right.” They all agree.

They all split up and go off to do their own things in the institute, relieved that their friend is okay, but worried about what the future will hold. 

 

Later that night, Robert arrives at the institute to talk to the young hunters.

“Dad? What are you doing here?” Alec asks when his father enters his office. “Has something happened?” 

“Ms Starkweather is pregnant with Jonathan’s child,” Robert tells him.

“What?!” Alec exclaims. “That’s what they wanted from her?” 

“Yes, it is,” Robert sighs. “She was covered in marks and bruises. Seems like when no one was paying attention, some of the men attacked her.”

“What are they going to do? I know we need more Shadowhunters, but given the conditions, it doesn’t seem right,” Alec says. 

“They are giving her the choice. She has refused to abort the child,” Robert says. “The Clave is worried, but knowing that Gabrielle will be around us, they are allowing it.”

“It doesn’t make any sense. Sounds like what the mundanes call Stockholm Syndrome,” Alec says. “From what Jocelyn Fairchild has said, Jonathan is more demonic than anything. We don’t know what the child will be.” 

“We can’t exactly force her to have an abortion, doing such may kill her,” Robert tells him. “Also Carlos gave us information on Jonathan, seems like he’s the one who had changed. We already knew Gabrielle was in love with him before she was taken.” 

“How could anyone love a demon?” Alec asks. 

“You should ask yourself that,” Robert reminds.

“He’s a warlock, not a demon,” Alec counters. “Besides, Magnus is on our side. Jonathan is working with the Circle. He held our friend captive for three months and watched her be tortured and assaulted her. He needs to be found and executed.” 

“The Clave has said that, we will let the child live, but not the demon father.”

“Do we have any leads on finding him or do we just have to wait for him to screw up?” Alec asks. 

“We have to wait to see what happens. Gabrielle will be coming back tomorrow, they say she will be better here.”

“Is she safe here? Are any of us safe here if she’s here?” Alec asks. “I thought they would put her into a secure location.” 

“They were going to do that, but she is psychologically damaged and needs her only family. They also believe all of you are strong enough to keep her safe,” Robert says. “You all have impressed the Clave. I am proud of you.”

“Clary and Mari still have a lot of training before they’re proper shadowhunters and a lot of things have been going on here,” Alec says. “I’ll have to assign guard shifts.” 

“I know you can handle it, and you aren’t alone. The Clave has given the vampires and Magnus permission to stay here to keep an eye on Gabrielle.”

“I’m sure Jess and Mari will be thrilled about that,” Alec says. 

“And what about you, son?”

“What about me?” Alec asks. “You’ve just given me a lot more to worry about. Relationship stuff isn’t exactly on the top of my priority list. Plus, the Clave still isn’t thrilled about my relationship.” 

“I understand son, however you do need to relax sometimes. I am sure Jace and Toni will help you with all of the work,” Robert says, walking out of the room. “I will be going to see your sister, also Max is coming to stay. He’s been.....getting in trouble again.”

“What did he do this time?” Alec asks and sighs. 

“He set the class room on fire. Again.”

“What was he trying to do?”

“Runes, he continues to say the nutrition rune looks like the fire rune.”

“I’ll have Izzy work with him on his runes,” Alec says. “Maybe he just needs more practice.” 

“I hope it’s just that.” Robert smiles. “Hopefully he won’t be like Jace when he was younger.”

“I don’t even know how we managed to fix Jace,” Alec says. “But hopefully Max will come around. I’ll just keep him away from Jace.” 

“That sounds like a good idea. I will inform the others about what is going on while you figure things out.”

“When will Gabrielle arrive?” Alec asks him, standing up. 

“Tomorrow afternoon, after her appointment to see how far along she is.” 

“I’ll gather my team and fill them in tonight,” Alec says, picking up his phone. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell them all of this.” 

“Good luck son,” Robert says, leaving.

Alec texts the team to meet him in the library at 6 tonight, then he heads over to Magnus’s loft, needing to talk to someone. 

“Hello Alexander,” Magnus says, opening the door. “What brings you here?”

“My father just paid me a visit,” Alec says, walking inside the loft, taking off his jacket. 

“Oh, and how well did it go?” Magnus asks, taking Alec to the living room.

“The Clave has Gabrielle right now, but they’re sending her back to us tomorrow,” Alec says, sitting down. “She’s pregnant.” 

“She’s pregnant?” Magnus asks, surprised and worried.

“They gave her a choice, but she wouldn’t take it,” Alec says. “So, now I have to have the team watching her all the time. But luckily now the Clave is letting you, Simon, and Raphael spend as much time as you want at the Institute, as if you guys want to be be babysitters. Plus, the Institute isn’t exactly baby ready. No one’s had a kid in years. Speaking of kids, my brother got kicked out of school in Idris for starting another fire.” 

“That is a lot Alexander,” Magnus says, placing a hand on Alec’s shoulder. “I will be there to help in any way I can. Maybe, just maybe, I can help Gabrielle with her child and make sure the child isn’t like their father.”

“Jonathan is another problem. Even if he isn’t stupid enough to try to get Gabrielle at the Institute, Jocelyn and Luke are still at a risk because the angel only knows what Valentine put into that monster’s head.” 

“They will be fine, I’m sure they will be protected. Also, he won’t be able to fight the feeling he has towards Gabrielle much longer. Three months close to your soulmate will cause some changes.”

“I can’t screw anything up because the Clave is probably looking for a reason to depose me from being head,” Alec says. “People my age don’t just run Institutes, plus there’s you.” 

“Everything will work out, Alexander.”

“I hope so.” He sighs. “Is it too early to drink?” 

“Not at all.” Magnus snaps his fingers and they have a few drinks.

 

A few hours later, Alec heads back to the Institute and into the library, still trying to figure out exactly how to deliver the news. Everyone is in the library, curious about what Alec needs to tell them.

“Well, I have a couple things to say,” Alec starts. “First, Max got kicked out of school for starting another fire, so his training will be continued here. Izzy, I’d really appreciate you working on his runes with him.”

“Of course,” Izzy says. “Jace, you stay away from us while I am teaching. He’s like how you were. Remember the duck incident?” 

“Ducks are evil!” Jace exclaims. 

“Bloody hell Jace,” Mari says. “Calm down.”

“But on a more serious note, Gabrielle will be returning tomorrow morning,” Alec says. “The Clave thinks it’s in her best interest.” 

“She is! Yes!” Toni cheers.

“She’ll have to be watched around the clock, so everyone will have to sign up for shifts to help keep an eye on her.” 

“Why do we have to watch her?” Jace asks.

“We know why Valentine wanted her now,” Alec says. “Or what he wanted from her, rather.” 

“Just say it brother,” Izzy says.

“Gabrielle is having Jonathan’s child,” Alec admits. “And she’s chosen to keep it.” 

“What!?” They all yell.

“It was her choice,” Alec says. “And we all have to live with her choice. So don’t bother her about it. She’s under enough stress as is. Magnus has agreed to help and see what he can do to help the baby. The Clave has also given Magnus, Simon, and Raphael to be here and help, if they so desire.” 

“Well....at least the baby won’t be around that thing,” Toni sighs angrily.

“As soon as the Clave finds Jonathan, he’ll be executed.” 

“Good.”

“But when you’re watching her, don’t bring up what she’s been through and try not to act like you’re watching her. She’s still our friend.” 

“We won’t stress her out more, that could cause complications,” Mari says.

“If anyone has any concerns, please come to me. I’m trying to keep everything running smoothly so I can stay in charge here.” 

“We will, Alec don’t worry,” Jace says.

“Jess, should we call the boys?” Mari smiles.

“I don’t think I should be pulling Raph away from his duties, but I’m sure Simon would love to help. Maybe he can get Gabrielle into Star Wars or whatever.” 

“Oh my god, yes!” Mari goes to call Simon.

 

“Poor Gabrielle,” Clary says, sitting down on Jace’s bed. 

“Yea, it must have been horrible,” Jace sighs. “We should have protected her better.”

“Honestly, I don’t get why she’s keeping it,” Clary says. “But I guess I’ve never really wanted kids that much anyways.” 

“Who knows, maybe being with him changed her a bit.”

“You think he screwed with her head or something?” Clary asks. 

“Who knows, or it could be from them being soulmates,” Jace shrugs.

“I don’t think it’s a soulmate thing. If someone kidnapped me and tortured me, I wouldn’t be acting like that.” 

“Do we know that Jonathan is the one who tortured her?”

“It’s his kid.” 

“I know that, but there obviously was more then just that.”

“It’s late. I should go back to my room,” Clary says, standing up. 

“You can stay here,” Jace tells her.

“You know Alec doesn’t like it when people do that,” Clary says. 

“So?”

“Good point,” she says, sitting back down on his bed. “It’s not like he isn’t up to things behind closed doors.” 

“Exactly.”

Clary lays down on Jace’s bed. “This is gonna sound weird, but do you know when Alec is… doing things? Because of your bond?” 

“Not everything and thank the angels for that,” Jace says, laying down next to her.

“That would be really awkward,” Clary says. “I kinda wish I had a parabatai.” 

“Well there is Mari and Gabrielle who don’t have one.But you have to feel connected to them before the bond is made.”

“I know. Mari’s really nice, but I’m not sure she’s my Alec.” 

Jace starts to laugh a bit, comparing anyone to Alec is funny.  “Is Izzy or Jess like Alec?” Jace asks once he’s calmed down.

“Jess is the Alec there,” Clary says. “Obviously.” 

“I guess you’re right there.”

“Although, you probably know her better than I do,” Clary says, resting her head on his chest. 

Jace smiles a bit before falling asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a warning, there is going to be some parts with self-harming. I know this is a sensitive subject for a lot of people, myself included. Please so not go crazy in the comments about this. We are in no way making fun or light of it, I am one to have self-harmed in the past.

In the morning, Alec is up early making sure everything is all set for Gabrielle arrival and safety. He has everyone signed up for the first few days of guard shifts. He’s also doing his best to keep what’s going on a secret from the others that live or work in the Institute, not completely sure who is trustworthy.

“Alec!” Max smiles, running at him for a hug.

“Hey Max.” Alec smiles and hugs his little brother. “It’s good to see you again, but until you can get your runes straightened out, you’re not allowed to use any unsupervised, understand?” 

“Aww that’s no fair,” Max whines.

“You can’t cause any more fires, Max,” Alec says. 

“I’m sorry,” Max says genuinely. 

“I know, Max,” Alec says. “Go get settled into your room. Izzy will come find you in a little while.” 

“Okay, oh and Dad said Gabrielle will be here in an hour,” Max tells him.

“Okay,” Alec says. 

Max heads off to his room to settle in, he hasn’t been to the institute in a while. His room is still how he left it though. Of course, no one expected him to come back until after he finished his training. He has yet to meet Mari and Simon since he really only met Clary once.

“You must be Max,” Simon says, noticing him through the open door as he passes by. 

“Yea, you’re Simon right?” Max asks.

“Yep,” Simon says. “So, you like fire, huh? Or maybe you just missed your family.” 

“I kinda wanted to help, I overheard what my parents talked about. I wanted to help anyway I can.”

“I’m sure they’ll appreciate the help around here.” 

“You think so?”

“Of course,” Simon says. “Everyone seems very stressed out here.” 

“Everyone is stressed, the Circle is getting worse according to Carlos. He said Jonathan may come after Gabrielle, his mark had shown up on his arm,” Max tells him.

“Alec knows that she needs to be protected,” Simon says. “They’ll find him sooner or later. And then they’ll take down the Circle.” 

Max smiles and nods. “What is Star Wars?”

“Only the best movies ever created,” Simon says. “You have so much to learn.”

“Awesome! Can we start now?”

“I don’t see why not,” Simon says, leading Max back to his room

An hour later, Robert arrives with Gabrielle. She sighs with relief as they enter, she did not like it with the Clave.

Alec is waiting for them when they arrive. “I’ve filled everyone in and Max is getting settled back in.” 

“Well done son.” Robert smiles.

“Thank you, sir.” 

“You can relax Alec, we talked to the doctors and Gabrielle is two months along.”

“I think that gives the Clave enough time to find the Circle before the child arrives,” Alec says. 

“Yes, they are working as we speak,” Robert informs.

“Let me know if they need any assistance,” Alec replies. 

“Of course, keep your eyes open here. Jonathan could come here at anytime. Gabrielle said that she kept her pregnancy well hidden until Jonathan’s mark showed up.”

“But he does know about the child,” Alec says and sighs. “Which makes things harder for us.” 

“He does, yes,” Gabrielle nods, showing the small heart near the initials. “Jonathan had this too, I’m sure he didn’t see it until after Carlos helped me escape.”

“We just have to be extra careful,” Alec says. “This goes without saying, but you have to stay in the building at all times.” 

“Of course, I’d rather not go out and potentially get attacked when I can’t fight back.”

“Well, technically you can fight back,” Alec says. “Your room is how you left it. Toni’s waiting for you there. But go easy on him. He’s changed.” 

“His vampire side is active too right?” 

“Yeah. He’s not the only one that’s been activated, but don’t worry about it too much. I’ll check in on you later.” 

“Okay,” Gabrielle nods and goes back to her room.

Toni is in her room already, sitting at the desk, waiting. 

“Hola hermano,” Gabrielle smiles.

“I’m glad to see you, but why are you doing this?” he asks. 

“Doing what?” Gabrielle asks confused. 

“Keeping that monster’s child,” Toni says. 

“It’s not just his child, it’s mine too.”

“You don’t even know what it’ll be. He’s mostly a demon and you’re half vampire. It’s not  good combination. It’s probably not going to be a Shadowhunter.” 

“I have gotten checked over and over, the warlocks and Tessa said the child will mostly have Shadowhunter blood. Yes, Jonathan has demon blood but he still has Shadowhunter blood too.”

“I just don’t get it,” Toni says. “You’re putting yourself in more danger.” 

“I will always be in danger, I have been since before I was born,” Gabrielle reminds.

“But now the Circle is after you and the whole team is at risk,” Toni says. 

“What are you saying Toni? Do you want me to not be here? Because I am not going to kill MY child.”

“I want you here, I just want to make sure you make the right choice in all of this,” he says. 

“I am making the right choice, I am against abortions. Either you can be happy for me or leave.”

“I can’t leave,” he says. “I just hope you know what you’re getting into. The Clave isn’t going to let Jonathan live and your child will be watched by the Clave its whole life.” 

“Like you and the others were? You know, you are making really hard to be happy with being here. Maybe I should have Carlos take me back to Colombia,” Gabrielle says. “At least there they support my decision.”

“I just want to protect you!”

“Protect me by having me kill my child!? You niece or nephew!?”

“I just don’t understand why you care so much! He and his father kidnapped you, the Circle tortured you, and he raped you!” 

“He didn’t rape me! He got pissed when he found  out what happened! He killed them for me! You don’t know how he actually is!”

“All I know is with the way I am, I wouldn’t damn a child to a life like that,” Toni says. 

“Get out. NOW!” Gabrielle screams at him, tears in her eyes. She stressed enough and he is not helping her.

Toni sighs and leaves. He goes into Izzy’s room. “Tag. You’re it.” 

“You pissed her off didn’t you,” Izzy states.

“Yep. Apparently people don’t like you trying to talk sense into them,” Toni says. “But don’t you agree that she’s making a mistake. I mean, you won’t make the same choice in her shoes, right?” 

“She’s doing what she wants. It’s her child, she wants to protect them.”

“It doesn’t make any sense, Iz.” 

“When you’re a mother you just want to protect your child,” Izzy says. “Especially when they are the child with your soulmate. You feel a stronger bond to the child.”

“Just go talk to her or something, please,” Toni says, then goes back to his room.

 

“I’m almost glad most of the team can’t have kids,” Alec says while he and Jace are training. 

“Toni is an idiot for saying that to her,” Jace says. “You know how strong the bond is between a mother and child is, especially when the soulmate father was involved.”

“I don’t know, I think I understand Toni’s point. We’re all in danger now, especially her. And I don’t really think you can actually consider it a child yet,” Alec says. “The only other people I have to worry about making more people are you and Clary.” 

“Let’s just hope Gabrielle doesn’t get depressed and do something drastic,” Jace sighs. “We have no idea how unstable she is right now.”

“I took Toni and any of the others who don’t approve of her choice out of the rotation,” Alec says. “I’m still in the cycle, but I have the sense not to say anything about it.” 

“Seems like the girls understand her a bit more, especially Mari and Izzy,” Jace says. “Also Max seems excited for the baby.”

“Max set the fire so that he could come home,” Alec says. “Now Simon’s turning him into a nerd.” 

Jace starts to laugh at that.

“At least that keeps him busy,” Alec says. “There’s too much going on as is.” 

“Also Gabrielle has been helping him with his runes, who would have thought huh?”

“Well, I’m sure Izzy has more important things to do than teach him everything. I don’t know if I should try to get the school to take him back or not.” 

“He might like homeschooling better. Gabrielle needs something to do, so why not have her teach him?”

“I guess it’s good practice,” Alec says. “I don’t think I’d ever see myself taking care of a baby, to be honest. You, on the other hand, are a different story.” 

“It’s been almost a week, I’m a bit glad nothing has happened,” Jace says, grabbing a staff to use.

“Well, everyone is on high alert,” Alec says. “All of this craziness because of a baby.” 

“How much of the Demon blood has Magnus taken out of the baby?”

“He’s only doing it a little at a time,” Alec says. “He doesn’t want to hurt the baby.”

“I get that, thankfully the vampire blood didn’t go into the child.” Jace says.

“Kid will have enough problems as it is.” 

“I know.”

“I don’t think I actually have to tell you this, but please be careful. We can’t afford to be short another hunter.” 

“Clary and I are careful bro. Don’t worry.”

“Good. Now, come on, let’s get back to training.” 

 

“You are acting like a prick, Toni,” Mari says. Once again, Toni made Gabrielle upset and she refuses to see anyone.

“I’m trying to help her, Mari.”

“By telling her to kill her child? It’s far too late to abort it.”

“We lost three hunter this week because of Circle attacks.” 

“We all know that Toni, but making Gabrielle feel like shit won’t help.”

“What do you expect me to do? Sit around like the rest of you and act like everything is fine and that we’re all safe here?” 

“We know that things are difficult right now, but can’t you think of how she feels? You lost her for almost four months, you keep pushing her, she may leave for good.”

“Being a Shadowhunter is about making the choices that are best from the group as a whole, not about what’s best for you.” 

“I have no idea how Izzy puts up with you,” Mari sighs. “Any luck getting into her room, Jess?”

“Might have to have Simon use his vampire strength and break it down.” 

“Okay, I will go and get him and Max,” Mari says, walking off.

“You don’t get it, Toni,” Jess says. “I’d give anything to be able to carry a child from my soulmate. But I can’t. And some day Izzy will want a kid.” 

“She is carrying that demon’s child and she’s in love with him!” Toni yells. “How can she love that monster!?”

“You’ll understand it when it’s your child,” Jess says calmly. “And Magnus is fixing the baby. It’ll be like the rest of us. You will lose her for good if you don’t give up this shit.” 

“What if she is killed by the child? Her body might not be able to handle it,” Toni says, his fear evident in his voice.

“That’s not going to happen. Magnus will make sure of that. And if something does happen to her, do you really want to spend the rest of your life regretting that you pushed her away?” 

“No,” He sighs.

“Then apologize to her before it’s too late.” 

“I will once the door is open. I am not going to completely break it with my strength like the bathroom door.”

“I still can’t believe you did that,” Jess says.

“It was an accident!”

“Sure it was. But you learned your lesson by being mentally scarred. And then we had to have that meeting.” 

Suddenly Simon rams into the door, causing it to slam open. He barely dodges a knife thrown at his head. The knife is already covered in blood.

“Woah,” Simon says. “No one said I’d get knives thrown at me.” 

“Simon, there’s blood on th-” Mari starts, before running to Gabrielle. “By the angels! Are you trying to kill yourself!?”

“Go away,” Gabrielle mumbles.

“MAGNUS!” Jess screams as loud as she can. “HELP!” 

“Jess, what happened?” Magnus asks, running in with everyone else, Jocelyn and Luke included.

Jess just points into Gabrielle’s room. “Magic. Now.” 

Magnus goes to Gabrielle and starts to heal her cuts. His eyes are serious, he had know idea she would go this far. Why kill herself?

“Come on, let’s give him space,” Jocelyn says, herding the kids back into the main area. 

“Antonio Starkweather! Look at what you’ve done!” Mari screams at him.

“I didn’t mean to,” Toni says. 

“You knew fully well that she’s unstable! She tried to kill herself!”

“That’ enough,” Luke says, stepping between the two and pushing them further apart. “Everyone just go back to your rooms. Fighting amongst yourselves does no one any good.” 

Everyone go back to their own rooms, they all need to calm down from the stress.

“I think she might be safer off at the house with us,” Luke says. 

“Luke, Jonathan is going to know about this,” Jocelyn says. “He may be used to pain, but this pain is different.”

“I know that. And now all of the kids are in danger. I can get the pack to watch her if we bring her to the house and Magnus can put wards up.” 

“Alright.”

“Plus, you actually know all the pregnancy stuff,” Luke says. “Seeing as you’ve had two kids.” 

“We will have to see if she does want to come with us.”

“Yeah. Hopefully she agrees. The kids are all great kids, but they don’t know how to handle this. Alec is in over his head.” 

“He is, but he didn’t have much choice,” Jocelyn says.

“I know. He’s doing his best.”

 

“Where is she!?” Jonathan yells, his arms feel like they are on fire.

“We don’t know, sir,” a guard says. “We’re trying to locate her.” 

“Find her or so help me I will kill you like the last two!”

“We’re doing everything we can, sir. Wherever she is, our tracking isn’t working and no Shadowhunters are willing to give up her location.” 

“There has to be another way, she is carrying my child,” Jonathan hisses.

“The Clave has probably changed that,” the guard says. 

“He would know by now,” Another whispers. Everyone knows his mark is on his arm and the little heart is there as well.

“Why don’t we take one of the New York brats? They’ll know,” a Circle member suggests. 

“Get the girl from London or the Lightwood girl,” Jonathan orders. “One of them should be able to give us the answer.”

“The London girl may be a better choice. We don’t want the traitor’s halfbreed daughter tracking us,” the member says. 

“Then get to it.”

“Right away, sir,” they say and leave the base to head to New York. 

“You didn’t need to yell like that,” Simon says to Mari as he, Raph, Jess and Mari relax at a cafe.

“He’s an idiot!” Mari says. 

“I would have to agree with Marinette,” Raph says. “He pushed her to self harming.” 

“At least she’s alright,” Jess says. “God knows the Clave will find a way to blame this on Alec, though.” 

“I don’t think they will, it’s not like he was the one insulting her,” Mari says, her accent much thicker.

“Yeah, well, she should be safer now,” Jess says. “Honestly, my mom will probably be really happy to have another baby around.” 

“I bet the baby is going to be adorable,” Simon says.

“Most babies are,” Jess says. “Honestly, I’m glad to be having a niece or nephew. I love kids, but obviously that’s not in the cards for me.” 

“And the baby will be a shadowhunter thanks to Magnus slowly removing the Demon blood,” Mari says.

“Thank the angel for that,” Jess says. “Although, I’m sure the Clave will still keep an eye on him or her.” 

“Considering who the father is and the messed up grandfather,” Simon adds.

“When is the Clave planning on putting Valentine down?” Raphael asks. “He’s not going to give up any information.” 

“I believe they said in a few days,” Mari tells him.

“About time,” Raphael says. “That man is a monster. I would love to see them do it. I hope they make it painful.” 

“Let’s hope so.”

“Let’s talk about something else,” Jess says. “I’m tired of all of the darkness.” 

“How about where the mother of Jonathan’s child is,” The circle member says, grabbing Mari and placing a knife to her neck.

Simon and Raphael bear their teeth at him and Jess begins to change forms. 

“Leave her alone,” Simon threatens. 

“Tell me where Jonathan’s mate is and I may let her live,” he says, tightening his grip on Mari.

“You’ll never find her,” Raphael says. 

“And you will never have her again, if you don’t tell me,” he says, pressing the knife harder against Mari’s neck.

Jess, who is now a small dog, bites the Shadowhunter on the leg really hard. He screams and kicks her away from him, stabbing Mari right on her collar bone. Jess shifts into a very large dog and pounces on the circle member, knocking up over and pinning him down on the ground. 

Simon grabs Mari to examine her wound. She was hit in an artery and there was demon venom on the blade. 

“Go ahead, kill me,” the circle member says. “Jonathan will kill me if I come back empty handed.”

Raphael pulls his phone out and makes a call. “Alec, we need you. And bring Magnus. We may have a lead now, but Mari’s hurt.” 

_ “We are on our way,”  _ Alec says.


	16. Chapter 16

Within five minutes Alec and Magnus show up at the cafe. Magnus goes straight to Mari to heal her injuries. 

“Anyone want to explain to me what happened here?” Alec asks, looking around at the scene. 

“This guy demanded to know where Gabi is, he held Mari captive until Jess was able to pin him down,” Simon summarizes. 

“I think you can get off him now, Jess,” Alec tells her. 

Jess slowly and hesitantly gets off the man, then Alec instantly grabs him and pins him to the wall.

“That works too,” Jess says after shifting back from an Irish Wolfhound to a human. “I’m sure we’ll be able to get answers from him. Even though I would have prefered to rip his throat out with my teeth.” 

“Now tell us, what does Jonathan want?” Alec demands. 

“His mate and child,” The Circle member tells him.

“He’s not getting them,” Alec says. “Tell me where he is.” 

“You have no idea how pissed he was when he felt her pain. He wants to protect her,” he says.

“Thanks, but we’ve got it covered,” Jess says. “Come on, let’s get back to the institute with this asshole.” 

“He will kill anyone who gets in his way,” The man says, referring to Jonathan.

“I think we can handle ourselves. Besides, we’ve fixed his child,” Simon says. “It won’t be a monster like him.” 

“He didn’t want for his child to be like him, that’s the first thing he wanted against his father.”

“Please. We know all about Valentine’s plan,” Alec says. “We will win this war. And you and Jonathan and all your Circle buddies will be killed or stripped of your runes.” 

The member goes quiet, there is no telling them anything. There are some members in the Circle who rather see Jonathan happy than like the soldier his father wanted.

“So, why don’t you tell me where to find him and maybe the Clave will be lenient on you.” 

“I can’t tell you,” He says. “Not because I don’t want to, but because the place moves too much to really know.”

“What does that mean?” Alec asks him. 

“There’s a spell on the house so it’s always moving.”

“Do you know what warlock cast the spell?” 

“Unfortunately I do not,” he sighs. “I may be one of the higher members, but Valentine has gotten much worse. He psychologically messed his son up and now he’s being a bit normal.”

“So how do you get back to the base?” Jess asks. 

“I have to contact Jonathan, he gets me back in. But if I go back empty handed, I’m as good as dead.”

“So then he doesn’t go in empty handed,” Izzy says. 

“You mean we let him take Gabrielle?” Mari asks. “Does Jonathan know about her self harming?”

“Of course he does,” the circle member says. 

“I don’t think Izzy meant sending in Gabrielle,” Jess says. “Someone can use the disguise rune to make themselves look like her. Then they can get Jonathan out of the house.” 

“That won’t work,” The circle member says. “He will know it’s not her.”

“It doesn’t need to work for more than a couple minutes,” Jess says. 

“Alec, what do you think?” Raphael says. “I am not sure if the disguise will work on Jonathan.”

“It’s dangerous. If Jonathan discovers the person before they can get him out of the house, they’ll be killed,” Alec says. “I don’t know how many other options we have, though.” 

“I’ll go,” Gabrielle says, walking up. Toni and Max are with her as well.

“No, you’re not going anywhere. You shouldn’t have even left Jocelyn’s house,” Alec says. 

“I am not going to stand by as you guys risk yourselves to get him,” Gabrielle says. “I know how to get in, he showed me how.”

“No. I won’t allow it,” Alec says. “If Jonathan gets you, then none of us will ever see you again and we won’t catch him. You need to stay here.” 

“Alec, I know what I am doing,” Gabrielle says firmly. “He will listen to me.”

“The answer is no. You’re too much of an asset. Someone that isn’t pregnant or in love with him will go,” Alec says. 

“You’re a fool,” the circle member says. “She just said she can get to him on her own. Whether you like it or not, she can go back to him.”

“No one asked for your input,” Alec hisses at the circle member. “I wish I could kill you myself, here and now.” 

“Then do it.”

“Not until Jonathan is in the Clave’s hands,” Alec says. 

“I told you, I am no help.”

“Then I suppose I’ll just hand you over to the clave right now,” Alec says, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. 

While he’s doing that, the girls share a look. 

“Um...Alec,” Simon says. “The girls are gone.”

“Why didn’t you stop them, you idiot?” Alec asks him. “Which way did they go?” 

Simon shrugs, honestly he wasn’t watching them. 

 

“You sure bout this Mari?” Gabrielle asks as Jess draws the disguise rune on her.

“Someone has to do it,” Mari says. “And Jess doesn’t look enough like you to pull this off.” 

“Alright, I will get the door open for you. Clary, Jess be ready to grab Jonathan when he comes through.”

“You know, Alec is going to kill us,” Clary says. 

“He wasn’t going to listen,” Mari says, with Gabrielle’s voice.

“Do I really look like that and sound like that?” Gabrielle asks.

“Yes,” Jess and Clary say at the same time. 

“Oh god, anyway, here you go Mari,” Gabrielle says, opening the portal like how Jonathan showed her to.

“Wait, Mari, did it disguise your Mark?” Jess asks suddenly. 

“Yep.” Mari nods, showing Gabrielle’s mark on her arm.

“Alright. Good luck. Try not to get killed because we won’t find your body,” Jess says. 

Mari enters the portal as the guys show up. They are unable to stop her. She crosses through the portal and straight into the lion’s den - the Circle’s headquarters. 

“Jonathan?” she calls, remembering to act like Gabrielle and to hold the fake little bump she has.

“So you’ve returned,” a guard says. “The boss isn’t happy about your little stunt. I’ll return you to your room, then tell him that you’re back. I imagine you’re not ever going to be allowed out of sight again.” 

“I know.” She sighs, following the guard.

The guard shoves her back into Gabrielle’s room and locks the door behind him. She glares at the door, now she knows why Gabrielle wanted to kick all of their asses.

 

When Jonathan returns, he goes and looks at the security feed. “That’s not her, you idiot!” 

“What?” The guards ask.

“That’s not Elle. That’s one of the New York idiots disguised as Elle. Keep her locked up and her door guarded. Under no circumstances is anyone to enter that room. Also, mess up again and you’ll wish that the Clave had found you.” 

“Sir, how are we going to get her now?” one asks. “And why did you call her Elle?”

“Clean the wax out of your ears. I said Gabrielle. And I’m going to go have a chat with dear old mom. She may provide some use. If not, have one of the cells prepared for when I return. Actually, get all of the cells prepared.” 

“Yes sir.”

Jonathan leaves the base again and heads back to New York. He knows exactly where his mother lives and has been keeping an eye on her. He walks right into the house and into the living room where his mother is reading a book. She smiles as she reads the baby book, she wants to make her grandchild a blanket. 

“Hello, mother.” 

“J-Jonathan?” Jocelyn looks at him in shock.

“I’m surprised you actually recognize me after having left me to die as an infant,” he says. “But look at how well things turned out for me.” 

“Gabrielle told me everything,” she says, standing. “I should have never left you with your father.”

“Here’s how this is going to work, mother. You’re going to tell me where she is or I’ll make you watch me kill all those New York brats one by one until they’re all dead. I’m not sure if I should start or finish with my dear sisters. Or I could have you pick who dies in what order. I can kill the Lightwood boy first. He’s a disgrace to our kind.” 

“Jonathan, please don’t do this. You can still be with her and be with your family.” Jocelyn tries to reason. “I do not know what your father told you, but I regret leaving you. I know I was not the best mother to you, but I ask you to give me a chance.”

“The only family I have are father, who they are about to kill, and my child. I will not lose them both. You can have the girl back after the child is born for all I care.” 

“Don’t you care about her?”

“Of course not. Women only have two uses,” Jonathan says. “I really don’t care about the first and I’ve got the second.” 

“I know that is a lie, I may have not raised you but a mother can tell when her child is lying.”

“First off, you’re not my mother. Second off, you don’t know anything about me. Don’t act like you do. I’m going to ask you one more time where she is. I expect you don’t want anything to happen to your precious daughters or your new child.” 

“She’s out,” Jocelyn says. “She was with Magnus about the infection she got from her cuts.”

“Well, I guess I can kill two birds with one stone. Get the girl back and kill that abomination. Where did they go off to?” 

“Mother?” Gabrielle calls, walking in. “I got back from the doctor and I got the first pictures!”

“You lead her right to me. Excellent. But I’m still going to kill the imposter. All those New York brats need to die. I don’t care which one it is,” Jonathan says. In a few strides, he reaches Gabrielle, grabs her, and opens the doorway to the base. 

“W-what? How?” Gabrielle asks, holding herself back.

“Goodbye, mother. Thanks for your help.” Jonathan steps through the portal and it closes behind him and Gabrielle. 

“Jonathan, y-you can’t do this,” Gabrielle says, holding him back. “It was my plan to send Mari here.”

“I’m done doing this the nice way,” Jonathan growls. “If you step even one toe out of line before the child arrives, your friend dies and I grab another.” 

“No! Don’t, please. What happened to you? For a while I actually thought we could be happy together,” Gabrielle says, stepping away from him.

“It was an act, you idiot. People in love are easier to control.” He shoves her into one of the prison cells. “See you in six months.” 

“I’m not the fool,” She says. “You are.”

“And why is that?” 

Gabrielle smiles and suddenly she’s gone. One her arm, Clary made a teleportation rune.

Jonathan swears loudly  several times. “You'll pay for that!”

Gabrielle is able to get her and Mari out of the house, back to their friends and family.

Jonathan starts scheming as to how to get back at them, starting with his mother and sister. 

“We are never going to catch him,” Mari says.

“We just have to stay ahead of him,” Clary says.

“We will need to keep Gabrielle here,” Toni says. “Jonathan knows that Gabrielle was at Jocelyn’s house. We need to protect her and the baby.”

“I already put up wards. But how did Jonathan know about Jocelyn?” Magnus says.

“His father probably told him lies about his mother,” Jace says. “Considering how mad he was at her for leaving.”

“I think Magnus meant how did Jonathan know about my baby brother or sister,” Clary says. “I didn't even know until yesterday.”

“He must have been watching,” Gabrielle says. “How else did he know about where I was?”

“He didn't. He was after Mom,” Jess says. “Trying to get her to give up your location.”

“We should send her somewhere else as well,” Toni says. “If she stays at her home, Jonathan can get her.”

“She can stay here,” Alec says. “She is a Shadowhunter.”

Jocelyn moves into the institute to stay away from Jonathan.

 

“We can’t just hide everyone here forever, Alec,” Jace says when two are alone.

“I know, but what else can we do right now?”

“I don’t know.” Alec sighs and flips through the pile of folders on his desk. “And the Clave keeps giving me work.”

“Have they made any headway with finding other circle members?” Jace questions.

“No because they don’t have any names. They've questioned the original already, but none of them are involved anymore.”

“What bout that one guy who threatened Mari?”

“They can’t get anything out of him. He’s too scared of Jonathan to say anything.”

“To think Gabrielle actually wanted to help him until recently.” Jace sighs.

“Some people just are lost causes, unfortunately.”

“Yea, I guess so.”

“Do you need something?”  Alec asks him. 

“I came to see if you need help,” Jace says.

“Grab a file,” Alec says. “I’ve got plenty to go around.”

Jace takes one of the files and goes through it. It’s the Clave’s reports for the last few days. They are soon going to execute Valentine, he still refuses to give information. It goes into everything they’ve done to him to try to get him to talk. They go through all of the files for about three hours.

“My head is killing me,” Alec says, closing the last folder. “Why do I like this job?” 

“It’s not that bad,” Jace sighs. “We should go get dinner. Gabrielle is cooking and I missed her cooking.”

“Better than Izzy’s cooking.” Alec walks out of his office, followed by Jace. He turns off the light and locks the door behind him. 

“Anything is better than Izzy’s cooking,” Jace says.

“Hey! I heard that!” Izzy exclaims from out of sight. 

Jace and Alec laugh as they enter the kitchen, Jess and Clary are looking at the ultrasound while Izzy is helping Gabrielle serve the food.

“It just looks like tv static,” Clary says. “I don’t see anything.”

“See the peanut shape?” Jess asks, pointing. “That’s the baby.”

“Wow, they’re small,” Clary comments. 

“Well I am only three months along,” Gabrielle says. “They will get bigger soon.”

“Other than the Jonathan thing, you’re so lucky,” Jess says. 

“I am done with him, I know you guys will help me raise my child,” Gabrielle sighs. “This will be my only child.”

“Look on the bright side. At least you get one,” Alec says. 

Gabrielle serves everyone and goes to be alone. It’s still hard on her to raise her child without the father and never truly be happy.

The others look around at each other. Sure, not all of them can have kids, but they’re all happy with their mates. While Gabrielle cannot be with her mate, he is a horrible person.

“How much of Jonathan do you think is still human?” Magnus asks. 

“He must still have some,” Jocelyn says. “His mark was on his arm.”

“I don’t know if there’s enough of Jonathan left that removing the demon part will kill him or not,” Magnus says. 

“We still need to try, Gabrielle cannot go through this. She already tried taking her life once, she will probably try again.”

“But if Jonathan gets anywhere near Magnus he’ll kill him.” Alec reminds them. 

“We will have to cage him or something,” Luke says.

“The Clave told us to stay out of this,” Alec says. “We can’t do anything but stay out of the way.”

“I am not going to watch this happen,” Jocelyn says. “I will do anything to help my son.”

“If I lose my job we have bigger problems than Jonathan,” Alec says. “This Institute isn’t like the others. I’m more lenient on you guys than I should be.”

“Sorry Alec, but you aren’t in charge of my or me,” Luke reminds. “Or the vampires and faeries. We can handle it.”

“I can’t ask you downworlders to risk your lives. I’m trying to establish diplomacy between all the groups and the hunters,” Alec says

“We want to help, we need to get the other circle members and if we have a slight chance of saving Jonathan we need to take it.”

“If you and Jocelyn see the list of members from the original circle that have been questioned, can you see if anyone is missing from the list?” Alec asks Luke, the  shows him the list 

Luke looks at the list, he quiet for some time. “Why isn’t your mother on here?”

“What?” Alec asks. 

“Your mother was a member of the circle as well, that is why she is with your father.”

“Alec, we’ve never seen their marks,” Izzy says suddenly. 

“And my dad did say that your parents are not soulmates,” Toni tells them.

The two siblings look at each other, both shocked about the new information. 

“It may explain why your mother seems.....detached from all of you.”

“But why did they stay together, then, after the Uprising?” Clary asks

“I’m not sure, maybe they didn’t have a choice because of the Clave?”

“Or because of their baby,” Magnus says, looking at Alec. 

“Maybe.”


	17. Chapter 17

“I still can’t believe he’s dead,” Jocelyn says. “It’s been like a week and I still feel like he’s gonna barge in here and do something evil, Luke.”

“It is hard to believe,” Luke agrees. “But finally after all this time, he’s gone.”

“It’s not over yet, though,” Jocelyn says. “What is they don’t find him. He hasn’t made a move, which scares me.”

“He is probably waiting for the baby. She’s due any day now,” Luke sighs.

“I’m not exactly that far behind her,” Jocelyn says. “Ours could be in danger too.”

“Not as much as James is. Jonathan wants his son, he doesn’t know that his son is no longer a demon.”

“I know, but he hates me, remember. He wants to make me suffer.”

“He won’t get his hands on our child, the pack won’t let him,” Luke tells her when his cell phone goes off.

“Who is it?” Jocelyn asks him. 

“Simon,” Luke says. “Yes Simon, wh- already!? She wasn’t due for another three weeks!”

_ “I know, but she’s having contractions. Her water didn’t break yet. But she wants you guys here for it,”   _ Simon tells him.

“We will be there in five minutes,” Luke says before hanging up. “Jocelyn, we have to go.”

“Baby time already? I guess they’ll be six weeks apart instead of three, then.” Jocelyn gets up from the couch with a bit of effort. 

They both head to the institute and enter the infirmary where everyone is. However, Gabrielle’s room is off limits to everyone but the healers. 

“I can’t believe I’m going to be an uncle today,” Toni sighs. “Oh man, I hope she will be okay.”

“Hey, this is weird for me too,” Jocelyn says, “My daughter is younger than my grandson.”

“That is weird. Also dad knows everything now,” Toni tells them. “I still can’t believe he opened up on what he knew after he found out the truth of what happened to my sister.”

“Jonathan is still out there, though,” Luke says. 

“I know.”

“And bound to try something,” Alec says. “We’re on high alert.”

“I wonder what the baby is going to look like,” Jace says,changing the subject.

“I always thought Jonathan’s eyes would be green,” Clary says. “Maybe James’s will be green.”

“And dark hair,” Mari adds. “Gabrielle has dark curly hair.”

“Both Jonathan and Clary were born with a lot of hair,” Jocelyn says. “I have a feeling the baby will be too.”

“We will have to see,” Luke says. “Jonathan may have light hair, but that’s fighting against Gabrielle’s dark hair.”

“It’ll be at least twelve hours until we find out,” Jocelyn says. “Probably more. Plus, almost all babies are born with blue eyes.” 

“We will have to wait and see,” Toni says.

“We should have perimeter patrols going,” Alec says. “We don’t want anyone to get in.”

“I’ll go,” Jace says. “Toni should stay here since it is his sister in there.”

“One of my pack members will be out there too right now. There’s always one not far from Jocelyn. Please don’t antagonize him, Jace,” Luke says. 

“I won’t, promise,” Jace says, walking off.

 

They switch off every few hours as to who is on lookout. Toni and Jocelyn are the only ones who never leave the infirmary. Sometimes the team members take naps while they’re waiting. It’s all taking a very long time. After about nine hours, one of the healers walks out and tells Toni he may enter the room. 

As Toni stands, there is a commotion coming from Gabrielle’s room. He runs over and bursts into the room, just getting in there in time to see that his sister has been knocked out and one of the healers disappearing using Clary’s teleport rune - with the baby. 

“Hey! Give James back!” Toni runs at the man with his increased speed. It’s too late though.

Luke and Alec are in the room a moment later. “What happened?” 

“One of the healers, they took James and hurt my sister!” Toni panics, his eyes blood red.

“That makes no sense,” the other healer says. “Nate’s never been part of the Circle. We were both questioned a few days ago by the Clave.”

“He used Clary’s rune, only Mari, Clary and Gabrielle know that rune,” Toni says.

“And Jonathan,” Clary says. “He probably saw it before Elle used it.”

“Damn it!” Toni screams, punching the wall.

“Relax,” Magnus says. “We’ll get him back.”

“How?” Toni demands. “That thing could be anywhere!”

“Yes, but I can find James,” Magnus says. 

“Please, find him and fast.”

“Antonio, I’m over 800 years old. I’ve lived through a lot of crap. Including the original Circle. Do you really think I didn’t know this would happen and not prepare for this?” Magnus asks. 

“I’m sorry, I just want my nephew back before Elle wakes up.”

“I can keep her comatose for a while. But as for James, I need a map of the world that you don’t mind getting destroyed and blood of at least one person that is a blood relative.”

“I have a map you can use,” Mari says. 

“We have some of Gabrielle’s in this vile just in case,” The healer says. “We didn’t know if she would need to use it if she lost too much blood.”

“It’s a start, but I’m going to need more and I can’t take any from her while she’s recovering.”

“Take mine,” Toni says.

“And mine,” Clary replies. 

“Okay. Biscuit, Antonio, and Mari, come with me. Alexander, I’m sorry about the mess this is going to make.”

“Do anything to find James,” Alec says.

Magnus leads the three others into the library, which thankfully isn’t carpeted. “Mari, set the map on the table, then get me a very large bowl from the kitchen and a very sharp knife.”

Mari places the map down and grabs what Magnus needs as fast as she can.

Magnus dumps the vile of Elle’s blood into the bowl, then hands the knife to Toni. “Don’t overdo it. Passing out does no one any good. If you feel dizzy, stop and use your healing runes.”

“Right,” Toni says, cutting his hand and gives a bit of his blood.

Once the bowl is pretty much full of blood, Magnus begins chanting in some language and slowly pouring the blood on the map. Lines of blood form on the map, a new one appearing every several seconds. When the blood runs out, Magnus stops chanting and begins examining the map. 

“This is both cool and creepy,” Mari says.

“Jonathan’s base moves, but nothing is ever truly random. And all Warlock magic has its limitations. Especially because any of the more powerful ones would sooner die than help Valentine. So, the house must have some connection to it's original location. We find that, we stop the spell, the house becomes once again fixed in its original location.”

“Okay and how do we do that?” Clary questions.

“Someone hand me a pen,” Magnus says. “These lines are the house’s paths and the dots are where it stops go a short amount of time. If I learned anything about geometry during my… well, affair… with Descartes, I should be able to pinpoint the location.”

Mari hands him a pen when he’s done rambling. Magnus begins to connect where the original location of the house could have been before the spell was placed. Suddenly, he makes a Circle on the map, then laughs. 

“Why are you laughing?” Toni questions.

“Terni, Italy. The birthplace is Saint Valentine,” Magnus says. 

“We better go tell Alec, I know exactly where the house was before,” Mari says. “Father did say it was strange a house just vanished one day.”

“I have to call a friend. I could use some extra magic. Plus, she’s great with kids.”

“Tessa?” Mari asks.

“You’ve met Tessa?” Magnus asks, surprised. 

“Yes, she was friends with my grandmother.”

“Small world. I’ll have her meet us there. Go tell Alexander. But Biscuit, Toni, you have to sit this one out. Alexander can pick the team.”

“Right,” Clary and Toni agree, knowing its best for now.

They all go to tell Alec what is going on and how they can get James back. 

“Jace, Izzy, Jess, and Mari, you’re coming with me,” Alec says. “Get geared and armed.”

“Right,” Jace says. “Simon, Raph keep your eyes open just in case. We don’t know if he will come back.”

“Why would he come back?” Simon asks. “He has what he wants.”

“He still wants to get back at Jocelyn and Clary,” Mari reminds. “He could make this worse by hurting Jocelyn or even kill Gabrielle.”

“Right,” Simon says. “Be careful, okay?”

“I will, promise.” Mari pecks his lips before leaving with the team.

The team heads off to Italy. They meet up with Tessa in front of where the house used to be. 

“It’s great to see you again, though I wish it was under better circumstances,” Mari smiles, hugging Tessa.

“Well, I am a Starkweather by blood,” Tessa says. “I try to look out for my relatives and descendants.” She glances over at Jace. 

“Thank you for helping, I’m sure Gabrielle appreciate it when she wakes up,” Jace says.

“Everyone stand back,” Magnus says. “Let’s not make  _ The Wizard of Oz _ a reality.”

Everyone takes a few steps back.

Magnus and Tessa begin to chant and use their magic to brain the house back. It takes a lot of power and nearly drains both of them of their magic. Alec and Jace help Magnus and Tessa after the spell is complete.

“I’ll go get the baby,” Jess says. “The rest of you cover me.”

“Be careful,” Mari says.

“I will be,” Jess says. They head into house, taking out any of the Circle members that they come across. With her rune, Jess can hear the baby and follows the noise. When she enters the room, Jonathan is there. “Hello, brother.”

“He has her hair and nose,” Jonathan says, looking at his son.

“You can’t keep him,” Jess says. 

“He is my son, I have every right to have him,” Jonathan says, but never looks at her.

“Do you really want to hurt her like that? Just hand James over to me and turn yourself over to us. We’ll tell them you cooperated.”

“Hurt her? She left with him, now I have what belongs to me. He is my son, my child.”

“It doesn’t work with that. I can’t have kids and that hurts enough, but if I had a child and someone took it from me, I would be devastated.”

“He is my son! She had no right taking him from me,” Jonathan glares at her. “She would have left him, like my mother left me.”

“No, she wouldn't. And mom didn’t want to leave you either. She loves James. Let him have the life you didn’t get to have.”

“Does she honestly love him?” Jess can tell that he is fighting within himself.

“More than anything in the world,” Jess steps closer to Jonathan. “Did you kill the healer you were impersonating?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Jonathan, give me the baby,” Jess says gently. “I swear to always protect him.”

“No, it’s my job to protect him. To protect my family,” Jonathan says.

“Prove it. If you want to protect him and stay alive to see him grow up, you need to give him to me. I’ll tell the Clave you cooperated and they won’t execute you.”

“I am not going to leave him....did she love me?” Jonathan questions. He remembers her cries for him when she was giving birth to their son.

“Of course she does.” Jess rolls her arm toward him, showing her mark. “These things are there for a reason, contrary to your father’s opinions. They 're us who the best person out there for us is. And that love doesn’t go away.”

“No, she can’t love me, no one ever has,” Jonathan hisses.

“That’s not true. Your father loved you. Mom loves you. She loves you. That little baby in your arms will love you, despite your flaws. But only if he gets to know you, which won’t happen if the Clave gets here and takes him by force.”

“Take him,” Jonathan says, struggling to make the choice. “I’m a monster and I can’t do it until it’s gone.”

Jess gently takes the baby. “We can help you.” She leaves the room and goes back outside. The Clave is surrounding the house. “Don’t kill him.”

“Why should we do that?” One asks.

“Because he’s just like the rest of us. He just wants to be loved and accepted. We can fix him like we fixed James, hopefully. Jonathan willingly handed the baby over to me.”

“We should give him a chance,” Robert says. “Carlos did say that Jonathan was genuinely showing love to Gabrielle. If he truly didn’t care, he would have killed her before taking James.”

The Clave members reluctantly arrest Jonathan instead of killing him. They all go back to Idris to discuss what will happen to Jonathan.

 

Jess and some of the others go back to New York. She goes back into Gabrielle’s room with baby James. She’s still out, so Jess sits at her bedside so that she sees James when she wakes. 

Unknown to Jess, Raphael is outside the room, silently watching her interact with James. He smiles a bit, wishing they could have a family. He walks away after a few minutes and nearly runs into Jocelyn because he’s not paying attention. 

“Are you alright, Raphael?” Jocelyn asks.

“I’m fine,” he lies. 

“You do not look fine.”

“So now you’re the expert?”

“I’m sorry Raphael, I know the look well. Luke had the same look when Clary and Jess were young.”

“What look?” Ralph asks. 

“The look of disappointment and sorrow because you cannot have a child with your mate,” Jocelyn says.

“Well, it worked out for him, didn’t it? Besides, I don't even like kids. They’re loud and messy and too much work.”

“If you are sure,” Jocelyn says, walking into the room.

“Hey Mom.” Jess smiles. “Come look at him. Isn’t he the most amazing thing ever?”

“He is,” Jocelyn smiles. “He’s tiny but looks very healthy.”

“I hope she’s okay.” Jess glances over at Gabrielle. “She’s been through alot lately.”

“Jess....they found more wounds on her. Self inflicted,” Jocelyn tells her, sorrow in her voice. “She may not wake up for a few days.”

“If the Clave finds out they’ll make her move to Idris and stay in the hospital,” Jess says. “I’ll take care of James until she wakes up.”

“The healer said she wouldn’t tell them, knowing it will just make things worse,” Jocelyn says. “James has to stay in here since he was taken just after he was born. I feel if he’s near his mother, it will help her.”

“That’s okay. Someone needs to look after him anyways. It’ll be nice to play Mom for a few days.”

“If you are sure. Where is Jonathan?”

“Locked up in Idris. I saved his life,” Jess says, carefully moving James closer to her. 

James makes a little noise and reaches for his mother.

Jess gently sets James down on her chest. She sits back in her chair, but keeps an eye on the newborn. She sighs.

“I know how much you want to be a mother, maybe adopting can be an option.”

“He doesn’t want to do that. Says the Clave would never give us one anyways.”

 

“He wants help, we should give it to him,” Robert argues.

“He doesn’t deserve help. I can’t believe you let a halfbreed twenty year old with a demonic soulmate talk you into sparing him!” 

“We all know it was Valentine who turned his son into what he is. Why should we punish the boy when he had no choice in what he had done?”

“Let’s put Jocelyn Fairchild in prison too! She let Valentine corrupt her child!”

“She ran to protect her daughter and believed that Jonathan had died,” Luke’s sister says. “We all thought Jonathan was dead when we found the baby remains in the Fairchild estate.”

“She should have turned the child over to the Clave the second she knew what he was! And now she’s messing up the bloodlines again!”

“She messed nothing up! She’s having a child with her mate like every other hunter wants to,” another says.

“A halfbreed! I say we forbid those with non hunter mates from reproducing! We need to keep our blood pure!”

The arguing continues when Maryse speaks up. “If this was what you were worried about, why would you let Jace, Alec, Gabrielle, Toni, and Jess live?” She asks. “They all are known halfbreeds from the day they were born. Each were conceived during our time in the Circle, why let them live?”

“I say we lock up all the halfbreeds!” someone yells and there is a bit of cheering. 

“And lose those who have saved us on more than one occasion?” Robert inquires. “Our relations with downworlders was strained until recently, also without them we would have not captured Valentine or the Circle.”

“Says the man with the gay halfblood for a son!”

“Yes, my son is gay. Why does that matter? You are the ones who wants everyone with their mates and he is. The Angels made us the way we are, why go against that?”

“Says the man married to someone other than his soulmate! Have you ever even met your true mate?”

“I did, when I was in the Circle. She’s right there,” Robert points to his wife. “We lied to Valentine and kept our marks hidden from him.”

“Impossible,” Amatis says. “Steven and I tried that and he split us up. I still felt the pain when he died.”

“Did you have a warlock hide it with magic?” Robert asks. “Tessa was the one who helped us.”

“The woman with two mates.”

“And the member of high standing families,” Maryse adds.

“I would hardly call the Starkweathers or the Herondales high standing at this point.”

“ENOUGH. This meeting is over for today,” the consul says. “Anyone who gets off subject tomorrow will be removed.”


	18. Chapter 18

Two days later, everyone is hanging around in the living room. Toni told them all that Gabrielle is awake and will be joining them once Magnus is done looking over her and James.

“I’m gonna miss taking care of him,” Jess says. 

“I know you will, but he does need his mom,” Clary says.

“I know. And she needs him,” Jess says. “It was fun to pretend for a couple days like I was normal.”

Magnus walks in with Gabrielle and baby James snuggled in his mother’s arms.

The group is all glad to see their friend awake and about. Things have been kind of tense the past few days. Raphael hasn’t been around either. 

“Thank you Jess for taking care of James.” Gabrielle smiles at her friend.

“It was fun,” Jess replies. “My mom and Luke say that he’s really easygoing for a newborn.”

“I hope I can be a good mother to him, I’m not sure I can do this alone.”

“You’re not alone,” Alec says. “You have a family.”

“He doesn’t have his father. Has anyone heard what is going to happen?” Gabrielle asks.

“The last I heard they were still arguing like schoolkids and the Consul started kicking people out.”

“We need a new council,” Mari comments. “They are so narrow minded.”

“That’s because they’re old,” Luke says, walking in. 

“We should be there with others our age,” Jace says. “We will be the ones who have to take over, so why let them mess   up? Most of the institutes are being handed to our generation anyway.”

“The Clave isn’t keen on teens being involved in things. They don’t think you have enough experience in the hunting world. My sisters says that there’s more than a few of them who want most of you locked up.”  

The teens look at one another, what will happen if they are locked up? Especially to James, he’s just a baby.

“Jocelyn and I would never let anything happen to you kids,” Luke says. “And neither would my pack. I have a feeling more downworlders are on your side, too.” 

“I hope so, I do not want to be separated from my son,” Gabrielle says, looking at James.

“You won’t be,” Luke promises. 

Gabrielle nods and sits next to her best friends, Jess and Clary instantly play with James.

Jace raises an eyebrow at Clary. “Thought you didn't like babies and kids.”

“I guess at first I didn’t, but now that James is here....” Clary says.

“We don’t need more kids around here yet,” Alec says. 

“Oh, I don’t want to have any kids yet,” Clary tells them. “Maybe in a few years or so.”

Jess looks at Mari. “Have you talked to Raph? He won’t text or call me back and they won’t let me into the hotel.”

“Now that you mention it, Simon hasn’t been replying to me either,” Mari admits. “Do you think something happened?”

“I know Raphael is mad at me, but what does that have to do with Simon?”

“I’m not sure, ever since James was born Simon has kept his distance from me,” Mari says. “Do you think they’re mad because they cannot have a family?”

“Simon wants kids, but he’s always wanted to adopt them,” Clary says. “So I don’t see an issue.”

“Boy can be so complicated.” Mari and Jess sigh. 

“I can talk to them, I practically raised Raphael,” Magnus says.

“Please don’t mention kids when you talk to them,” Alec says. “If that’s the issue, let them bring it up.”

“Of course, all of you stay out of trouble while I’m away,” Magnus scolds. “Don’t give my Alexander a headache.” 

“We’re not children,” Clary says. 

“Yes you are biscuit,” he says, leaving the institute. 

“Why do I have a nickname and no one else does?” Clary asks. 

Everyone shrugs, however Jace and Izzy are snickering a bit at Alec’s blushing face.

“Do you have a special nickname?” Jace teases his parabatai. “Spill.”

“Shut up Jace,” Alec says.

“Does it have to do with an animal?” Jace asks. 

“Jace!” Everyone scolds.

“No one else is curious?” Jace asks. “Come on, it’s Alec.”

“What he does with Magnus is none of our business Jace,” Gabrielle says.

“I’m his parabatai. Everything is my business. I tell him everything.”

“I will tell you at a later time Jace,” Alec tells him.

Jace smirks, having won this battle. 

 

In Idris, the council brings in Jonathan to question him.

“Are there any Circle members that haven’t been caught?” they ask him. 

“Yes, at least thirty men and women are still out there,” Jonathan tells them.

“We need names,” the Consul says. 

“Unfortunately I do not know their names, Father kept that from me,” he admits. “I only know their faces.”

“Then we need to bring everyone through Idris,” someone says. “And arrest the traitors.”

“They are both in Idris and in the mundane world,” Jonathan says. “They are hiding within the mundane populus.” 

“Could you describe them?” 

Jonathan describes the people down perfectly to the consul, some of the hunters in attendance write down the details before leaving.

The hunters recognize some of the descriptions and go to search for them, but others have to be searched through the records to be found. 

“What do we do with him now?” One member asks. “Do we allow Magnus Bane to help him?”

“I don’t think there is enough human in him to fix. But, he did help us, so we can see what the Warlock can do.”

“He’s also asked about Ms Starkweather and their son on multiple occasions,” the guard admits.

“Did you tell him anything?” 

“All I have said is that they are fine, but he continues to ask.”

“Good. Don’t tell him anything. He doesn’t deserve it.” 

“But he has shown to care about her and their child.”

“Just bring in the warlock. If we’re lucky, it’ll kill him and we’ll have one less problem to deal with.” 

 

“Enough of you pouting, Raphael,” Magnus says.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Raphael says. 

“Jessica is worried about you and you have been keeping your distance from her. What is wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong, Magnus,” Raphael says. 

“Raphael, that is a lie. I have been around you long enough to know when you are lying.”

“What do you want from me, Magnus?” he asks, looking out the window at the early night sky. 

“To tell Jessica the truth, she is worried about you dearly,” Magnus says. “She is your mate.”

“You think I don’t know that? You of all people should understand this, Magnus.”

“I do understand, but running away isn’t the best option,” Magnus tells him.

“I’m not running away from anything.” 

“You are running away from your mate.”

“So what if I am? Isn’t it better than the other option?” 

“And what is the other option?” Magnus questions.

“I’m immortal. She’s not. Do the math, Magnus.” 

“Then be with her while you can, I am in the same position as you so is Simon,” Magnus says. “Why waste the limited time you have with your mate?”

“Because what’s the point, Magnus? We can’t build any sort of life. So why should I allow myself to get attached to some girl who is going to die just because magic letters on our arms say so?” 

“That’s because they are the one who is our other half, you have waited hundreds of years to meet her. You can be happy, but you’d rather sit here and sulk.”

“Maybe you’ve waited hundreds of years, but I was born in 1937.”

“Just don’t ruin this chance to be happy,” Magnus says before leaving as his phone goes off.

Raphael just leaves the hotel to get some exercise while it’s still night. How can he be with her? How can he just stay with her as she ages? How can he stay with her as she watches her friends have what she wants so badly and can’t have? How can he watch her go through all that? He can’t. There has to be a way the two of them can be happy. But unless he can find away, he’ll stay away. 

 

“You’re doing what?” Mari asks Clary as she researches.

“Looking for any traces of old runes that could be useful,” Clary says, flipping through a book. She has a huge stack of books about runes piled on the table. 

“For what? Can’t you make your own?”

“I don’t make them. The angel shows them to me in visions. And I don’t have control over when I get them. It doesn’t work that way. This isn’t life or death. It’s just my sister deserves to be happy. Since we were kids playing house, she was always the mom. She deserves a baby more than anyone I know and I want to help her.” 

“She really does deserve it, so does Raph,” Mari agrees. “Elle always lets her babysit knowing she is the best choice, minus your mother.”

“I love Jace, but things would be so much easier for her if our soulmates were flipped. Or what they are was flipped. Cause then she’d have a kid by now and I wouldn’t feel like I have to have a kid because I’m supposed to, not because I want one. Which, I kinda do, but not until I’m at least 20.” 

“I get that, so does Jace. He isn’t pushing you, no one is since James has been born. Do you think this will work for Simon and I?”

“I’m sure if it works for Jess and Raph, it’ll work for the two of you.” Clary looks up when the door opens and sees Alec walk in. 

“Hello Alec.” Mari smiles, giving him tea after giving Clary her’s.

“Doing some light reading, are we?” Alec asks, eyeing the stack of books. 

“Yes.” Clary nods.

“I just talked to Magnus. He was talking to Raphael, but then he was summoned to Idris.” 

“Why was he summoned to Idris?” Mari questions.

“Technically this is classified information and I shouldn’t be telling you, but the Clave wants him to try to fix your brother, Clary.” 

“Really?” Clary looks at him in shock.

“I think they more want him to kill Jonathan than fix him. I can feel how conflicted he feels. I need someone to get James and Gabrielle separated before they start the process. But without making it obvious what you’re doing. No one is supposed to know about this. Can one of you do it?” 

“Of course, Elle will understand if I want to have some time with my nephew,” Clary says.

“Good. She’s in her room. Go now. Get him out of the Institute if you can manage that. I want as few people in this place as possible. I sent Jace and Toni out on patrols already. Jess is at home anyways. Izzy’s with her trying to make her feel better.”

“Right,” Clary leaves. 

“Where would you like me to go?” Mari asks.

“Stay,” Alec says. “You’re one of the closest people to her. Wait about five minutes, then head into her room and start talking to her. The process starts in 30 minutes. At best, it’ll cause her a lot of pain. At worst, well, I’ve read that soul bonds breaking hurt more than parabatai bonds breaking.” 

Clary is able to convince Gabrielle to let her take James to see his grandparents as she rests. She’s been doing everything alone and he’s been a bit restless. Clary likes spending time with James, but this isn’t a pleasant time. This is for his protection. Instead of taking him home, though, she brings him to Central Park and sits on a bench, watching the other people. 

“Hey Clary, baby James,” Simon says, walking up.

“Simon? What are you doing here?” Clary asks, surprised. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be talking to us anymore because your leader is Captain Gumpypants.” 

“He’s not grumpy, he’s depressed and so am I,” Simon sighs, sitting next to her. “We don’t want to watch Jess and Mari go through life and be unhappy without a family. We will watch them age while we will be the same age forever.”

“I’m trying to find a way for Jess and Captain Gumpypants to have a baby. I haven’t had much luck, though. Honestly, I’d have a kid and just hand it over to them, but that’s not what they want,” Clary says. “Plus, I’m pretty sure Jace wouldn’t be cool with that.” 

“You are? Maybe Mari can help. Is she okay? Is she happy?”

“She misses you, Simon. She asked me if I found a rune to help Jess if it would work for you two. But I know you only want adopted kids anyways,” Clary says. “Wanna hold James?” 

“I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately,” Simon says, taking James. “Maybe it would be nice to have children of my own.”

“You’ve been talking about kids since we were like five. What changed your mind?” Clary asks. “Also, how did you find me? And why aren’t you questioning why I’m in the park with a baby at 11 at night?” 

“We know bout Jonathan so I figured.” Simon shrugs. “I just felt like I want to see Mari as happy as Gabrielle was when she had James. Also then I can truly say they are my child.”

“How do you know about Jonathan? Alec told only Mari and I what was going on. He just sent everyone else out. He said it was highly classified,” Clary says. “Also, you could have your own and adopt others.” 

“We overheard Magnus, he’s not that quiet. And I didn’t say I wouldn’t adopt as well.”

“I’m supposed to be protecting the baby,” Clary says.

“I guess if he was near his mom it may scare him.”

“Or she might have dropped him or hurt him.” Clary guesses. “Alec told me to get him out of the Institute and I didn’t want to take him home because Jess is there and she’s pretty upset. Izzy’s with her because Jess’s moods effect Izzy, obviously. And Mom’s there and my baby sister is due in a few weeks anyways…” 

“Things are getting crazy, but not in a bad way I guess,” Simon says.

“I just don’t want to cause any more problems for anyone,” Clary says.

A woman walks past the pair and looks at Simon and the baby a little oddly, like she’s judging why a teenager has a baby in the park this late at night. 

Simon ignores her and James plays with the strings from his sweater.

“I’m glamored,” Clary says. “I’m not sure if me being visible would have made that better or worse.” 

“Probably worse,” Simon says. “He’s adorable.”

“I am covered in tattoos, so probably,” Clary says. “He is a very cute baby. Honestly, he’s why I’ve decided I want one.” 

“I think he’s why everyone decided to have one.”

“It’s hard not to want one. I mean, look at him. He’s so cute and squishy.” 

Simon laughs at that. 

“Well look at this, the vampire is out of his coffin,” Jace comments.

“Jace? What are you doing here?” Clary asks him. 

“Toni and I finished our patrolling and we saw you two so came over to say hi.”

“Shouldn’t James be with my sister?” Toni asks.

“James wouldn’t stop fussing and she was tired, so I decided to take him for a walk,” Clary says. She’s not completely lying. 

“He has been fussy lately, Elle said that he only calms down when she sings or he sees his father’s picture,” Toni tells them.

“He seems to really like me,” Simon says. “He’s asleep now.” 

“He must be exhausted too.”

“Anyone else noticing Alec’s been acting kinda strange tonight?” Jace asks. “He’s nervous about something. I can feel it.” 

Clary and Simon share a look, technically they shouldn’t even know but they know not to talk about it more.

“Whatever. I just he isn’t up to something kinky,” Jace says, sitting next to Clary. 

“Oh God, Jace,” Toni sighs, sitting on the ground.

“What?” Jace asks. “What’s Simon doing here anyways? I thought the vamps were supposed to stay away from us.” 

“I needed some fresh air and I happened to see Clary so I came over to say hi,” Simon says.

“Tell your boss to get his shit together. I can’t handle all the moodiness going on. Neither can Alec. I’m on patrols most days now.” 

“I’m trying, he’s stubborn.”

“Of course he is,” Jace says. “Why can’t anyone just be happy with what they have anymore?” 

They all shrug. 

Suddenly, Izzy and Jess come running towards them. Luke found out what is going on and is worried about Gabrielle. He knows what happens if Jonathan dies.

“Is anyone still at the Institute?” Izzy asks, looking around at their little group and noticing the baby. 

“Mari and Alec,” Clary says. “What’s wrong?”

“Jonathan. Luke caught wind that Magnus got summoned to Idris to try to fix him. But it’s not going to work. Elle shouldn’t be alone,” Izzy says.  

“Wait, what?” Toni asks.

“The Clave decided to let Magnus take the demon blood out of Jonathan. But they don’t actually want it to work,” Izzy explains. “He’s going to die.” 

“Well what will happen to Elle if he does?” Jace questions.

“It’s worse pain than the breaking of a parabatai bond,” Izzy says, glancing over at Simon. “Alec wanted us all out. I’m guessing that Simon didn’t kidnap a random baby.” 

“I don’t kidnap kids, so if the pain is so bad.....what could happen to Elle?” Simon questions.

“I think I can answer that,” a new voice says. “Will told me what parabatai bond breaking feels like, but what I felt when he died is why worse than what he described when his bond to Jem broke.” 

The group looks at the new person, curious of who can see them.

“Tessa?” Clary asks. “Did Magnus call you or something?” 

“I heard what was going on,” Tessa says. “There is a small chance Jonathan may survive, but if he doesn’t....Gabrielle will be in the worse pain imaginable.”


	19. Chapter 19

“You mean my sister could die!?” Toni demands.

“No, she’s not going to die. It’s just going to hurt. A lot. I can’t even describe to you how it feels to lose your soulmate,” Tessa says, glancing down onto her right arm, where WH and the pattern have turned from gold to black. 

“What should we do?” Jace asks.

“There’s really nothing that can be done,” Tessa says. “I suggest you listen to your friend’s suggestions, though. Find someplace to stay for the night.” 

“We can head to my house for the night,” Clary says 

“I should get back to the hotel,” Simon says. “Tell Mari I said hello and that I miss her.”

“Will do,” Clary says. She takes James back from Simon before leading the group back to the house that her parents had moved into. She and Jess have their own bedrooms and the new baby’s room is all set up as well. It’s a nice house and even though the two girls spend most of their time at the Institute, it feels like home. Jocelyn is happy to see her grandson as well as everyone else.

“You know the rules. No mischief in my house,” Jocelyn says, taking baby James. “I don’t want to see another one of these for awhile, other than your sister.” 

“The girls will share one room and Jace and I in another,” Toni says, earning a groan from Jace.

“No going through my stuff while you’re in my room,” Clary says. 

“I will keep Jace out of your things,” Toni comments.

“Good,” Clary says. She grabs some pjs form her room, then heads into Jess’s room to settle in for the night. 

 

“I cannot believe it,” Robert says, helping Magnus once the spell is done.

“Wake me up in about three years,” Magnus says, then passes out from completely draining his magic. 

“He did it....by the angels he did it,” One council member says.

“Nevermind that! Someone get a healer or something,” Robert says, kneeling down beside Magnus. 

A hunter runs off to get two healers, one for Magnus and another for Jonathan. They get the two into the hospital to let them rest and recover.

Robert heads to New York, but it confused to find it mostly empty. He looks around for one of the team members. He finds Alec and Mari in Gabrielle’s room where they are helping their passed out friend. She had fainted from the pain she felt from Jonathan.

“Why is there no one here?” Robert asks. 

“I sent them off,” Alec says. “I didn’t want too much of commotion when the process was happening.”

“It’s almost 2 in the morning and your team is out wandering New York?” 

“Jocelyn called, they are at her house for the night.”

“No one was supposed to know what was going on,” Robert reminds him. 

“I didn’t tell them, Mari however would have known so I kept her back.”

“They’re not parabatai yet,” Robert says, glancing at the two girls. “She wouldn’t have felt it.” 

“I would have sensed it,” Mari says. “That’s how strong our connection is.”

“I just came by to say that your warlock friend is going to be out of comission for a few days, but he’ll be fine,” Robert tells Alec. 

“It worked, didn’t it,” Alec questions.

“It’s too soon to tell,” Robert says. “He’s alive at the moment, but we have no idea what’s gonna happen or what he’ll be like.” 

“Alright, tell us when it is alright to visit them.”

“Magnus should be back in New York within the next few days, but it could be months before Jonathan is recovered. No visitors for him. No exceptions,” Robert says. “I have to get back to Idris. Anything else you need to know?” 

“Nothing else, thank you father,” Alec says.

“You’re welcome,” Robert says. He leaves the infirmary, then heads back to Idris.

 

Izzy wakes up about an hour after they went to bed, sensing that something is weird. She sits up and activates her night vision rune, then looks around. That’s when she notices Raphael in the back corner of the room, trying to hide in the shadows. 

“Creepy much?” Izzy whispers. “Who are you? Edward Cullen?”

“I don’t know what that means,” Raphael says. “You should be asleep.” 

“Read  _ Twilight _ and you will understand,” Izzy says. “Why are you here?”

“I was out for a walk and it started raining.” 

“Sure.....Just wake her up and tell her you are sorry.”

“Don’t get involved in things you don’t understand, Isabelle,” he replies. 

“I may not understand, but I know that it is making Jess super depressed and you are obviously just as upset.”

“I’m not upset and she’ll get over it.” 

“No, she won’t.”

“Yes, she will. And she’ll live the life she wants and deserves. I should go. I wasn’t here.” 

“You really are stupid and stop making Simon avoid his mate. Don’t make him miserable you selfish dick,” Izzy hisses.

“I’m not making Simon do anything. He’s free to do whatever he wants. I told him that,” he says. 

“You’re still a selfish dick.”

“I am not. You’re too young to understand it.” 

“You’re scared to lose her, aren’t you? You are immortal and she’s mortal, she wants a family and you cannot give that to her,” Izzy says. “Am I right?”

“I’m a vampire, Isabelle. I’m dead. I can’t go out during the day. I can’t get married. I can’t reproduce. Hell, I can’t even have sex. I’m useless,” he says. “I can’t do that to her.” 

“She loves you regardless, Raphael. She wants to be with you.”

“She’s miserable with me!” Raphael quietly exclaims. “It’s not right, Isabelle. She’ll never be able to be happy with me.” 

“But she is you idiot, do you have any idea how many happy stories she tells me? How much she misses you? Hell, she even said she’d give up everything to be with you again.”

“It’s wrong,” he says. “Goodbye, Isabelle. I’ll have a conversation with Simon, but you won’t see me again.” 

“We shall see bout that Raphael,” Izzy says as he leaves.

 

In the morning, Jocelyn makes breakfast for everyone. Luke is holding James feeding him his bottle.

“Are you okay?” Jess asks Izzy, sensing something isn’t quite right. 

“I’ll tell you later,” Izzy says. 

“Okay,” Jess says, then goes back to eating her breakfast. 

They all eat their food, wanting to go home to see their friend. 

“I kinda liked having this guy around last night,” Luke says. “Reminded me what being a dad is like.” 

“How much did he cry?” Toni asks. “He doesn’t really like Jace, so he cries all the time when Jace is holding him.”

“Well, newborns have to be fed every two to four hours,” Luke says. “So I guess no more than usual. And maybe babies just don’t like Jace.” 

Jace grumbles as Toni laughs. 

Once they are done with their meal they head off back to the institute with James. Clary returns James to his mother. Gabrielle is happy to see him, happy to know he had a nice time with his grandparents and aunts. 

“I think Luke is his new favorite person,” Clary says. “Luckily for you he’s about to have a new kid, or he might have kidnapped him.”

“Of course.” Gabrielle laughs. “How’s Jess doing?”

“Not great,” Clary says. “I’m pretty sure she just went back to her room.” 

“Raph is so stupid, I get he wants her happy but he’s causing the exact opposite.”

“Yeah. Speaking of unhappy, your baby hates my boyfriend,” Clary says. 

“He doesn’t hate him, Jace just holds him wrong. He’s really fussy on how he’s held,” Gabrielle says. “He wants his head and back supported, not his butt.”

“I’ll pass the message along. I hope it’s not just a ‘babies hate Jace’ thing because I want one eventually,” Clary says. “But at the same time, it’s not fair to my sister.” 

“I’m sure you will figure something out,” Gabrielle says. “Don’t try to force it. Maybe, like the other runes, it will suddenly come to you when you are not thinking about it.”

“It doesn’t do any good if Raphael isn’t a willing participant.” Clary sighs, frustrated. Why don’t my powers work when I want them to?” 

“Do not force it, maybe once he hears about he will be more willing to come round.”

“I don’t think so,” Clary says. “I gotta go. I have my Alec lesson.” 

“Good luck.”

“I’ll need it,” Clary says, heading out of the infirmary and to the library. 

 

“I’m going to see him,” Mari argues. “I don’t care what Raph says.”

“It’s a bad idea,” Jace says. “Not with everything that’s been happening lately. It might be dangerous to step foot in the hotel.” 

“I don’t care.”

“Fine. Then I’m going with you,” Jace say, crossing his arms. 

“Why?”

“Back up if the vamps attack you. Plus, Alec is too nice to yell at Raphael like he should,” Jace replies 

“Fine, I’m guessing we aren’t telling Alec?” Mari inquiries.

“Alec’s giving Clary a lesson right now. She should be getting her first permanent rune soon, so he wants to make sure she’s ready. They’re in the library.” 

“Okay, let’s go before he comes out here.”

“We should be armed just in case,” Jace says, crossing the room to the weapons cache. “If Alec asks where we were, we were out patrolling.” 

“Right.” Mari grabs her favorite daggers.

Jace grabs a couple seraph blades and makes sure he has his stele before leading the way out of the Institute. “Are you glamoured?” 

“Of course, I’m not a noob Jace.”

“You don’t need to be. I prefer to be glamoured around all the mundanes because otherwise they tend to stare or hit on me,” Jace says as they walk down the street. 

“You aren’t the only one who gets hit on,” Mari comments. “I think guys like my accent.”

“Plus, you’re a solid 7,” Jace says. 

“Excuse me? I am totally a 9, you on the other hand...”

“You could be a 9, but you don’t put in enough effort,” Jace says. “Me, on the other hand, I’m off the scale.” 

“I would agree, but you are too much like a brother to me to comment,” Mari tells him. “I haven’t put much effort into my looks since we have been a bit busy for the last few months.”

“Runes look like tattoos, so it raises hotness in the eyes of some mortals,” Jace says. “You’re not my type, though.” 

“You are a brother to me, besides I like hot geeks,” Mari says. “Also it’s kinda pathetic that you are scared of ducks.”

“They’re creepy looking. Have you seen their feet and their beaks?” Jace says. “Plus, Tessa said Will fed duck to the ducks and they ate it. I don’t trust cannibals.” 

“Oh my god Jace, they are not that bad.”

“Yes, they are. They always hiss at me,” Jace says. “At least I don’t spend all my free time playing  _ Dragons and Dungeons _ like your boyfriend. I do useful things like play piano and kill demons.” 

“He killed demons too once he became a vampire, Jace. He was a mundane before when we first met him,” Mari reminds. “And he’s faster and stronger than you, even when you have the runes.”

“He’s also dead,” Jace says. “And can’t go out during the day. And sterile.” 

“Still hot, also Clary is working on a rune to help Raph and Simon.”

“I don’t think Raphael is going to care, to be honest. But I’ll feel better after I yell at him. Jess is like my sister and that idiot is hurting her.” 

“Can I punch him too?”

“If it comes to it, you can do whatever you’d like to him.” 

“Awesome.”

“Have you memorized the parabatai oath for your ceremony yet?” Jace asks. “Because you don’t want to mess up during. It’s a very intense thing.” 

“Yes, I have memorized it. I never thought I’d have a parabatai but Gabrielle is my best friend.”

“You’re lucky you met when you did. You’re almost too old to get a parabatai. I met Alec when I was 10 and we bonded when I was 14,” Jace says. “I can’t imagine not being connected to him. It takes a while to get used to the feeling though. You eventually learn to ignore the smaller things.” 

They soon make it to the hotel. Jace walks inside first and looks around the foyer. He immediately spots the lookouts.

“You shouldn’t be here,” a vampire says, then bares her teeth at him. 

“I’m here to see my mate,” Mari says

“No Shadowhunter in the hotel. Boss’s orders,” the other says. “Go before we make you go.” 

“We are not leaving, besides we have news for your boss.”

“The boss doesn’t care about your news,” the first one says. 

“You better let us in or it will end badly for you,” Mari growls. “You cannot keep soulmates from one another.”

“You can’t attack us unprovoked. You wouldn’t want to be your precious Accords, would you?” 

“I am not going to attack you, I have other ways. My father, who was friends with the head vamp in England, taught me a few things.”

“Go before we get Raphael. I don’t think you want to deal with him right now,” the second vampire says. 

“Go and get him, I have a lot I want to say to that bastard,” Jace says.

The two vampires look at each other and the first one goes to get Raphael. They return after a few minutes. 

Raphael stands at the top of the stairs, looking down on the two Shadowhunters. “I thought I told you to stay away from here.” 

“I am here for Simon and you cannot stop me,” Mari says. 

“Simon’s not here. He’s at home with his family. Now, go away,” Raphael says truthfully. 

“Fine, I am leaving but Jace wants to say a few things to you,” Mari says, heading over to Simon’s home.

“Don’t bother, Shadowhunter. Isabelle already lectured me. And she’s much scarier than you are, Blondie,” Raphael says, turning away. 

“Jess is even more miserable now,” Jace says. “She knows you have been watching her.”

“I don’t care,” he says. “Please leave before you lose most or all of your blood. My watch team is very hungry.” 

“You know not to attack me.”

“I know. But I don’t have control over my men all the time,” he says. 

“Which is still your problem.”

“Not really. Goodbye, Blondie.” Raphael leaves and starts to head back up to his penthouse room. 

“What is wrong with you?” Jace asks, climbing the stairs and following him. 

“Nothing is wrong, now leave,” Raphael says.

“You have a chance to be happy and you’re throwing it away. How are going to feel if she if she takes her own life?” Jace asks. “No one deserves a baby more than she does. And for some stupid reason, she wants you around to be its father.” 

“I cannot be a father and you know that.”

“Clary is trying to fix that. She gets visions of runes. She’s trying to find one that’ll help,” Jace says. “But even if she can’t there are plenty of orphan hunters at the moment that need homes.” 

“What will I do when she dies? When the child dies? I will outlive her.”

“And that sucks. But you follow your bloodline. Look after your descendants. That’s what Tessa does. We all lose people in our lives. But you can’t let fear control you.” 

Raphael stops walking and faces Jace. “Does she honestly want to be with me?” he asks.

“For some reason.” 

“I suppose I will go and see her again.”

“Good.” With that, Jace leaves the hotel. 


	20. Chapter 20

**A month later**

“The Clave says he’s really shy and isn’t great around a lot of people,” Alec tells his team. “I don’t know how he’s going to react to us. I don’t want to overwhelm him, so anyone that isn’t Elle or his blood relatives can meet him later.” 

The other hunters, vamps and werewolves wave to their friends as they head to meet up with Jonathan. Alec had been quiet about his transfer and had already introduced himself to Jonathan. Now, it was the other’s turns to meet him.

Clary and Elle are the first two to enter the library. Gabrielle keeps her composure and holds herself back from running to him.

“You’re Clary and Gabrielle, right?” Jonathan asks quietly, his green eyes looking between the pair of them. “Alec was telling me about you two.” 

“It’s good to see you brother.” Clary smiles. 

Gabrielle just smiles and gives him a shy wave, it’s like they are meeting for the first time again.

“So…” Jonathan says awkwardly. He doesn’t remember anything from his old life. He was basically like a toddler when he woke up after the process. “This is a big library.”

“Elle can help you around, she practically lives in here,” Clary tells him. “What was explained to you about the mark on your arm?”

“Yeah. Alec showed me his. It’s very fancy,” Jonathan says. 

Clary helps Elle show her mark to Jonathan, and tries to get her to explain the little heart. Gabrielle, however, is way to shy, and worried, to explain.

Luckily that’s when Jocelyn walks into the room to break the awkwardness. “Jonathan. I am so sorry about what happened to you.” 

“Mom,” Jonathan says.

“That’s right.” Jocelyn smiles and walks closer to him. “I’m so happy to see you. You should meet your baby sister later.” 

“I have a baby sister?” Jonathan questions.

“Yeah. She was born a couple day ago,” Jocelyn says.

“Is she why I have this little heart?” Jonathan shows her the small heart.

“No, but a lot of people have them,” Jocelyn says, showing him her arm. Hers has four of the tiny hearts - one for each of her kids. 

“Then why do I-?” Jonathan is cut off as Toni enters with James, who’s fussing.

“Sis! He won’t calm down,” Toni whines. 

“What did you do?” Gabrielle asks, taking James into her arms.

“I did nothing. It was Jace,” Toni says. “He won’t give up on trying to get James to like him.” 

“It’s okay sweetie, Mommy’s here,” Gabrielle coos, lightly bouncing James.

James giggles a bit before looking over at Jonathan, he holds out his arms to him to be held.

Jonathan takes a few steps back from Gabrielle, startled. He’s never held a baby before. 

“I can take him out of the library,” Clary offers, seeing her brother’s reaction. “I’ll keep him away from Jace.” 

“Thank you Clary.” Gabrielle sighs. She carefully hands James over to Clary and she leaves with her son and brother.

“That’s your baby?” Jonathan asks. “Aren’t you a little young?” 

“Well....yes....I am,” Gabrielle nods. “Jonathan...I uh...”

The door opens and Jess and Luke walk into the library, slowly approaching Jonathan. 

“Hey, your eyes are the same color and Mom and Clary’s,” Jess says. “Not many people have green eyes.” 

“I will see you later, Jonathan,” Elle whispers before bolting.

“Did I do something wrong?” Jonathan asks, frowning. 

“You didn’t tell him?” Luke asks Jocelyn and Alec. “He has a right to know about her and her son.”

“Baby steps, Luke,” Alec says. “Plus, I’m not the right person for it to come from. It has to be her.” 

“She isn’t stable herself,” Luke reminds.

“Neither is he. He’s mentally about eight years old right now,” Alec says quietly

“And Gabrielle is close to committing suicide, again,” Luke hisses.

“Him being back will help with that. That’s why I persuaded the Clave to send him back to us. But you may as well be trying to tell Max the same thing,” Alec says.

“Jonathan, do you know your connection to Gabrielle?” Luke questions.

“Only what Alec told me,” Jonathan says. “That we’re supposed to be together or something.” 

“She is your soulmate, you two had spent several months together. That is why she is nervous around you.”

“Oh,” Jonathan says. “Why does that make her nervous?” 

“She really likes you, but....with how you are now she doesn’t want to force you into a relationship or..”

“Or what?” Jonathan ask. “Do you mean that thing that grown-ups do?” 

“That boy is your son,” Luke tells him.

“What?” Jonathan asks. “But they told me where babies come from and that’s gross.” 

“Alec, I suggest that Gabrielle and James stay away from Jonathan until he’s a bit more adjusted,” Luke says.

“Can they stay with you?” Alec asks. “Unless you want to take him instead.” 

“We will take Jonathan,” Jocelyn says. “Toni and Mari are the best people to be around Gabrielle.”

“Alright. Let me know if you need anything. But the Clave still wants him to learn to be a hunter,” Alec says.

“Of course.”

“I could help teach him,” Jess says. “Since you guys are busy with Charlotte.” 

 

“There’s so much going on right now,” Alec tells Magnus when he gets home to the loft a few days later.  “It’s crazy. I mean, he’s getting better, but I don’t know if we should bring him into the Institute or… Magnus, what’s with that look on your face? Did something happen?” 

“Max has missed you, maybe you should go and see him,” Magnus says.

“I’m sorry I’ve been gone so much the past few days,” Alec says, walking towards his son’s nursery. “I know he still isn’t sleeping much. You should go get some rest.” 

“I’m fine Alexander.” Magnus smiles. “I just want to see my husband and son together.”

Alec walks into the nursery and picks up the blue baby boy. “You know, when he’s older, the whole double Max thing will be confusing. We could have changed his name.” 

“Your brother isn’t blue and can’t use magic.”

“I know, but that doesn’t help when we call his name,” Alec says, carefully bouncing him. “We can worry about that in a few years.” 

Magnus smiles as he watches Alec and Max together. They never would have had a child if Max hadn’t been left on their doorstep in a basket with a note pinned to his blanket. But now it’s hard to imagine life without him. Both Alec and Magnus are happy to have the boy in their lives, it makes things brighter.

“What do you think I should do?” Alec asks Magnus. 

“Jonathan has gotten better correct? Maybe being with his mate and son can help him more,” Magnus suggests.

“Maybe. I just don’t know if he’s mentally ready or not,” Alec says. “And if he isn’t, it could have consequences. I don’t know how Jonathan is with babies yet. The Angel only knows when we’ll have another in the Institute. Maybe I can give him a few day trial period.” 

“He’s been around his baby sister, I am sure he is used to babies by now.”

“I should talk to Jess about it tomorrow morning,” Alec says. 

“Good idea.”

 

“And this is your room,” Jess says, opening the door for Jonathan. “It’s kinda boring right now, but you can put things on your walls or do whatever you want. Clary’s painting a mural all over her and Jace’s room.” 

“Thank you Jess.” Jonathan smiles. 

“Let me know if you need anything, okay?” she asks. She and her step brother had bonded a lot while she was training him. 

“I’m going to go and train a bit,” Jonathan says, putting his stuff down.

“Alright,” Jess says. “I’ll leave you to it.” She heads off to her own room. 

Jonathan heads to the training room and notices he isn’t going to be alone. Gabrielle is facing away from him, vigorously training with her staff. 

“Hi,” he says in his usual quiet tone. 

“Hm?” She turns to face him. “Oh, hi Jonathan. It’s great to see you.” Gabrielle gives him her sweet smile she only gave him.

“My sister showed me my room,” he says. 

“You will be here now? That’s great, I hope we can get to know one another.”

“Alec says I’m on probation. Whatever that means,” Jonathan says. 

“It is not a good thing, in short it means you are on thin ice,” Gabrielle tells him.

“Where is there ice?” Jonathan asks. “It’s not that cold outside.” 

Gabrielle starts to laugh, she remembers having to explain expressions to Toni as well. It was the best time in her life.

“What is funny?” Jonathan asks. 

“It’s an expression darlin, it means that Alec will be watching you closely.”

“Oh,” Jonathan says. “Where’s your baby?” 

“James is with Simon and Marinette,” Gabrielle tells him.

“The vampire and the British girl, right?” Jonathan asks. 

“Yes.” Gabrielle tosses him a staff. “Are we gonna just talk or are we gonna spar?”

“Jess says I’m a terrible fighter,” Jonathan says. 

“Well I can help you get better.”

“That would be nice,” Jonathan says. “Okay, let’s do this, then.” 

The two of them spar together, Gabrielle wonders if he will remember anything. He was an amazing fighter before and she misses her time with him. 

However, he doesn’t prove to be that great of a fighter. Gabrielle knocks him to the ground easily, normally when she knocks someone down, she’s happy, but now? This is just sad. He looks like a kicked puppy. 

“This is just......sad,” Gabrielle comments.  

“What is?” Jonathan asks, getting back to his feet. 

“You used to be strong and could knock me flat in like two minutes.”

“I guess I’m not really good with violence,” Jonathan says. 

“You just need to get back into the swing of things. You had told me you trained outside, maybe that can help you.”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m not meant to do this fighting stuff. The government people don’t want me to,” he says.

“The Clave doesn’t want me fighting either cuz I have vampire blood in me, but here I am,” Gabrielle says. “Come on, it may help you.” 

Jonathan shrugs, but he goes back to trying to fight her. And failing. Repeatedly. Gabrielle doesn’t go that easy on him, knowing if she does it wouldn’t help. They stay at it for hours until Jonathan can’t fight anymore. 

“Well, that was interesting,” Gabrielle says, going to help him up. “Come on, I will make you dinner.”

“You don’t have to do that,” he says, standing back up. 

“Izzy will be cooking dinner for everyone tonight,” Gabrielle warns. 

“On second thought…” 

Gabrielle smiles and takes him to the kitchen. They talk as she cooks, it’s a nice conversation for the two, connecting them once again.

Jonathan is really different from how he used to be, however. He’s really shy and not very good at conversations. 

Gabrielle helps him, making it light and happy. She may have liked him before, but she’s really falling for him in this new way.

“I kinda wish I had a brother,” he says suddenly. 

“Jace and Toni can be your brothers,” Gabrielle tells him, not looking away from the pot.

“I mean like a real brother. I’ve got three sisters. I’m outnumbered,” Jonathan says. 

“Oh.”

Jonathan goes quiet, not knowing what else to say at this point. 

James crawls into the kitchen and crawls to Jonathan. He grabs his lace on his shoe and tugs on it.

Jonathan looks down at the little boy, not really sure what to do.

“Sorry!” Mari says, appearing in the kitchen a moment later and scooping the little boy up. “I turned my back for a second and he was gone.” 

“James can be an escape artist at times.” Gabrielle giggles, taking the boy. “Did you wanna see mommy?”

James smiles and starts babbling. 

“I’ve got to get better at watching him,” Mari says. “For when it’s my turn.” 

“When you’re the mother, you will be great at keeping an eye on your baby,” Gabrielle says. “You and relax, I can watch James.”

“Alright. I’m gonna go check on Clary and try to get her out of the library,” Mari says. 

“Good luck,” Gabrielle says, placing James on her side and goes back to cooking.

“I can take him if you want,” Jonathan says quietly. “Mom let me hold Charlotte.” 

“Are you sure?” Gabrielle looks at him with uncertainty and worry in her eyes.

“He seems to like me which puts me above Jace,” Jonathan says. 

“Well that’s b-bec.....” Gabrielle falters as she speaks. Should she tell him the truth? He seem to have forgotten when Luke told him that he is the father of James.

“I know. Luke told me, remember?” Jonathan says. “But I’m not him.” 

“He’s not a demon either,” Gabrielle says. “Magnus did the same to him as he did to you. He’s still your son.”

“The other me was genetically different than I am. Or that’s what the Clave says,” he says. “He shouldn’t be near the stove. It’s dangerous.” 

Gabrielle goes to him and hands him James. “All you had before was demon blood, James has your hunter blood as well as mine. Thank the angels he didn’t get my vampire blood.”

“The Clave people don’t like any of you guys,” Jonathan says, holding James carefully. “Says it’s bad enough that you’re halfbloods and your leader is gay plus the fact that you never listen to orders or ask permission to do things.” 

“If we did follow orders, Valentine would have won and half of us would be dead,” Gabrielle says. “Who cares what the Clave thinks. If it was up to me, I would be at college, living a normal life. I wouldn’t be a mother or be in the position where the man I love doesn’t remember me or even loves me.”

“Then go be that person,” Jonathan gets up and leaves, bringing James with him. 

 

“Clary, you haven’t left the library in days,” Mari says. “You need to get some fresh air, take a shower, and eat some actual food. Not necessarily in that order.” 

“Shh,” Clary says, working furiously.

“Are you even listening to me?” Mari asks. “When’s the last time you talked to Jace other than yelling at him to go away?” 

Clary keeps on working when she suddenly slams her pencil down and throws her hands up in the air. “I did it!!” she yells.

“Did what?” Mari asks. “Set a record for the most books about runes read in a week?” 

“I have made the rune so you and Simon and Jess and Raph can have families of your own.”

“Really?” Mari asks, looking at the piece of paper in front of Clary. 

“Yes, really.” Clary smiles.

Mari studies the rune, then pulls out her stele and draws it on a free patch of skin on her arm. 

“You and Simon will still have to do the same thing as everyone else, but it will help you get pregnant,” Clary explains.

“By the same thing, do you mean sex?” Mari asks. 

“Yes.”

“I’ve never actually done that before,” Mari says. 

“Don’t worry about that, it will just happen.”

“Says the girl who’s done it like a billion times,” Mari replies. 

“I am not explaining it,” Clary says.

“I’m gonna go find Simon,” Mari says. “Please go take a shower.” 

“I heard Gabrielle is cooking before Izzy can, I’m going to get her food first before Alec and Jace can take it all,” Clary says, standing up.

“Alec is out with baby Max today,” Mari says. “But good luck getting to the food before your boyfriend.” 

“Tell Jess about the rune, she’s with Raph,” Clary tells her before going to the kitchen.

Mari leaves and heads to the hotel. She heads up to Raphael’s penthouse first and knocks on the door, not wanting to just barge in. 

“Hello Marinette,” Raph says, opening the door.

“I need to borrow your girlfriend for a minute,” Mari says. 

“Jessica, Marinette needs to talk to you.” 

Mari walks into the penthouse to see her friend talking to Simon, or listening to him geek out. “I just talked to Clary.” 

“She finally talked to someone,” Jess says. “She must have finally cracked.”

Mari rolls up her sleeve and turns her arm towards the other three. “More like she had a breakthrough.” 

“She did it?” Simon asks.

“She did. Or at least she thinks she did,” Mari says. 

“We will have to test then,” Simon smirks.

Mari grabs his hand and drags him out of the penthouse and down into his room.  She closes the door behind them and pushes him down onto the bed. “Let’s hope this works.” 


	21. Epilogue

**Roughly Nine Months Later**

“10 bucks says Mari’s is born first,” Jace says. 

“Nah, it will be Jess,” Jonathan says, bouncing James.

“There’s gonna be two new additions to this place today and you’re betting about it?” Alec asks them. 

“They have been like this for the last week,” Gabrielle says, sitting next to Jonathan.

“It’s just for fun,” Jace says. “I have them as both boys and Jonathan has Jess’s as a boy and Mari’s as a girl. Anyone else want in?” 

“No thank you,” the others say. 

“I’m more focused on the two upcoming weddings,” Toni says. 

“You mean those of you doing things in the right order?” Jonathan asks. “That’s so boring.” He’s become a lot more social over the past few months and his sense of humor is pretty similar to Jace’s, so the two get along really well. 

Jonathan and Gabrielle have gotten closer since that conversation in the kitchen. They were able to talk it out and began to work together. Jonathan is a stronger fighter and is an amazing father.

“Call me old fashioned,” Clary says. “But I wanted to get married first. But I’m not rushing into having a kid, either.” 

“I’m with you there,” Izzy says. “But it is about time your brother is getting married along with your sister.”

“Not to disappoint you all, but marriage doesn’t really change things that much,” Alec says. 

“At least it will get the Clave off their backs,” Toni says.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be much longer,” Izzy says, rubbing the spot where her parabatai rune is. “I can’t imagine how painful it will be to actually have a kid, but feeling it second hand sucks.” 

“At least I already went through it once,” Gabrielle comments.

“Yeah, and you and Mari weren’t actually parabatai yet,” Izzy says. “So she didn’t feel it this much. But Jess and I have been connected since we were eleven.” 

“Mari and I went through the ceremony after I had James remember?” Gabrielle reminds.

“Toni and I were on assignment in Hawaii when you had your ceremony. It was so nice there,” Izzy says. 

“I bet it was.”

From one of the two rooms, there is a loud scream and then a few seconds later crying can be heard. Simon emerges from Mari’s room, grinning. 

“So Mari was first.” Jace smirks. “Boy or girl?”

“Girl,” Simon says. “So the two of you are even at the moment.”

Jace and Jonathan exchange a look. “You knew about the bet?” Jace asks.

“Magnus let it slip,” Simon tells them.

“You two idiots brought my husband into this?” Alec asks Jace and Jonathan. 

“I was betting too darling,” Magnus says, walking into the room.

Alec sighs and takes Max from him. “Well, who and what did you bet on?” 

“Mari would be first and have a boy.”

“So none of you are winning,” Alec says. “What do you have Jess’s as, Magnus?” 

“Baby girl.”

“It’s happening,” Izzy says suddenly. 

They all wait for Raph to walk out. And he does a few minutes later. He’s got some blood on him, but he’s smiling anyways. “He’s perfect.”

“You guys sucked at guessing,” Gabrielle and Clary comment.

“But I don’t,” Luke says. 

“They all lost the bets,” Simon informs Raph.

“Actually, Luke was completely right,” Jace says. “But I think his wolf instincts helped him cheat.” 

“I don’t think so,” Clary says.

Luke collects his money from the other three guys. “Never bet against me. I always win. Now, I’m gonna go meet my grandson.” 

“I’m going back to my wife and daughter,” Simon says, going back to Mari’s room.

Mari’s holding their little girl, who is now wrapped up in a blanket and has a pink hat on her tiny head. “What should we call her?” 

“How about Leah?” Simon suggests. 

“Leah Lewis-Everheart. I like it,” Mari says. She wanted to give their child Simon’s last name, but Simon said she needed a Shadowhunter last name, so they had decided to compromise. 

“She is adorable,” Simon says, sitting next to her.

“Yeah. Look at her tiny fingers. Aren’t they the best thing you’ve ever seen?” Mari asks. 

“They are.”

“I wonder how Jess is doing next door,” Mari says. 

“I’m not sure.”

 

“He looks like you,” Jess says, her eyes not leaving her newborn son’s face. “Don’t you think he looks like Raph, Dad?” 

“He does.” Luke nods.

“I love you so much, Oliver,” Jess says, then kisses his tiny forehead. “I have since the day Aunt Clary made that rune. And I will love you until the day I die. And after that if there is an afterlife. And guess what? The little girl net door is gonna be your best friend forever.” 

“What are the initials on his arm?” Luke asks.

Raphael carefully grabs his son’s little arm. “It’s hard to tell with newborns. But it looks like three letters instead of two. Weird.” 

“Leah Lewis-Everheart,” Luke says.

“What are the odds of that?” Jess asks, glancing at the wall that separates her and Mari. Jess carefully stands up and leaves the room and walks into Mari’s. 

Mari is smiling at her daughter who has her father’s finger in her hand.

“Hey. I thought these two should meet,” Jess says. 

“Really? Why?” Mari asks.

“Does she have three letters on her arm instead of two?” Jess asks. 

“She does.” Simon nods, looking at Leah’s arm.

“So does he,” Jess says. “Oliver Santiago-Graymark.” 

“Aww, they are soulmates!” Mari smiles.

“Hey, let’s not push them into anything yet,” Simon says, going all protective. “Even if they are, the letters won’t gold until they’re 12.” 

“I won’t do anything.”

“Me neither,” Jess says. “But we can let them be friends.” 

 

**A few weeks later**

Jess and Gabrielle look at each other. They’re standing in the hallway side by side in golden dresses.

“Ready for this?” Jess asks her friend. 

“Ready as I will ever be,” Gabrielle says.

The music changes and cues the two brides to begin walking down the aisle. Everyone looks at the two, smiling. James starts to giggle from Simon’s arms. Oliver and Leah are being held by Clary and Jace, respectively. Raph and Jonathan watch the two walk to them, both smiling.

The girls reach the end of the aisle and stand next to their mates. The silent brother begins the ceremony. 

Jonathan places a necklace around Gabrielle’s neck. Gabrielle places the bracelet on his arm, and gives him a smile.

Raphael and Jess do the same thing Jonathan and Gabrielle did. 

The music turns off and the silent brother turns to Jonathan and Gabrielle. ‘It is now time for for Jonathan Morgenstern and Gabrielle Starkweather to mark each other with  the wedded union rune. A rune on the hand, a rune on the heart, a union is born.”

Gabrielle take the stele and draws the wedded union rune on Jonathan’s hand and over his heart.

Jonathan takes the stele and slowly draws the rune on her arm, smiling. He repeats the action over her heart. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Gabrielle smiles.

The silent brother turns to Jess and Raphael. ‘It is now time for Jessica Graymark and Raphael Santiago to exchange rings.’

Raphael takes one of the rings and places it on Jessica’s left ring finger.

Jess takes the other ring and slides it onto Raph’s ring finger. A year ago, she never would have thought this would happen.  Yet, here she is, with a perfect little boy and marrying her soulmate. 

Gabrielle smiles at her sister-in-law, last year she wouldn’t have thought she would have this kind of life.

‘You are now joined. Congratulations,’ he says and everyone cheers. 

Everyone cheers for them both as they head back down the aisle and into the main area for a reception. 

“Who do you think is next?” Jess asks Gabrielle. 

“Probably Simon and Mari,” Gabrielle answers.

“Probably. They are never apart from each other,” she says. “I can’t believe I’m married.”

“It is hard to believe after everything we have been through,” Gabrielle says. “I am happy I met everyone, if I hadn’t I wouldn’t be married to such an amazing man.”

Clary and Jace walk over and Jess takes her son back. “Hey guys.”

“Congratulations to both of you.” Clary smiles.

“Thank you,” the girls say. 

“So now all three of you are sisters,” Jace says.

“We've been sisters for a while,” Jess says, putting an arm around each of them. 

“Exactly,” Gabrielle agrees. 

 

**Another Year Later**

“Come on. Come to Mommy,” Jess says, kneeling on the floor a few feet away from her son. 

Oliver slowly takes a few steps towards her before falling back.

“Wow,” Clary says, walking up behind her sister. 

Oliver gets back up with a small grunt and begins to walk again, when he nears Jess he giggles and hugs her.

“I can’t believe he’s walking already,” Jess says and lifts him up, then turns towards her sister. 

“He is certainly smart, remember when James started to walk? He wouldn’t stop running around,” Clary says.

“I remember. Someone was always chasing after him to keep him out of trouble.” 

“I hope Oliver won’t be like that.”

“I don’t think so. What’s up?” 

“Well, I’ve been thinking about being a mom,” Clary tells her. “But I am not sure if Jace will want a child.”

“Jace keeps stealing my son. Trust me, he wants one,” Jess says. “Just talk to him.”

“I will, you know, I was surprised when Alec gave over the position of being head of the institute to Jace and I.” Clary and Jess head towards the living room. “He always wanted to be the head.”

“He’s got the kids to worry about. Besides, it’s in good hands.”

“His kids are so cute.”

“You’ll be a great mom,” she says. “Come on, let’s go get ready for Mari’s wedding.”

The two girls head to their side by side rooms, passing their mother and little sister on the way. They share a smile. Everything is great. 


End file.
